From Health Care to Housing A Phased Approach to a Neighborhood-Scale Development in Pineville, Louisiana Project Summary The Central Louisiana State Hospital (CLSH) is situated in Pineville, Louisiana and dominates approximately 400 acres of this small city. The CLSH property has a long history of providing for those in need of psychiatric support and treatment. However, with the recent construction of a new state-of-the-art treatment facility in nearby Alexandria, the CLSH campus is being closed by the Louisiana State Department of Health, and the site is available for redevelopment. The Community's Challenge The CLSH represents a significant economic development opportunity for Pineville as it is one of the largest areas of land around the waterfront of the Red River as well as the US Highway 71 corridor. However, it can be difficult to develop a large tract of land effectively without adequate planning for the future. Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and the City of Pineville requested assistance to help provide a neighborhood scale plan for the CLSH site. EPA's Land Revitalization Technical Assistance In 2022, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Land Revitalization Program provided contractor technical assistance to the LDEQ and City of Pineville to support a market assessment and site reuse and revitalization plan for the CLSH site. The market assessment evaluated the local demographics as well as labor force and market dynamics to help identify feasible business opportunities for redevelopment. Pineville is across the river from the more populous Alexandria and often shares labor pools and business activity with the adjacent city. The assessment also investigated the current housing market in Pineville to determine the types of housing most appropriate for redevelopment. The assessment found that there was demand for restaurants and bars, specialty food stores and various health and personal care stores that could be located at the CLSH site. The site reuse design provides a roadmap for redeveloping for multiple uses and suggests design principles to ensure redevelopment is cohesive and responsive to the rest of Pineville. The reuse plan considers the context of nearby Highway 71 to provide valuable tracts with road frontage for commercial development. The interior of the site is centered around multiple mixed-use village clusters of activity. The reuse concept plan provides several program options for sizing, housing typologies, and retail and commercial businesses. Centralizing several open and shared public spaces provides a neighborhood feel that blends the character of Pineville with new housing. Finally, the plan provides options for working with the private sector towards implementation and suggests a phasing plan to breakdown this large site into manageable pieces. Rendering of Proposed Single-Family Neighborhood Street For more information, contact Emily Jimenez, EPA Region 6 Brownfields Program, at Jimenez.Emilv@epa.Qov. Community: Pineville, Louisiana Technical Assistance: Site Reuse Design and Market Analysis Former Use: Mental Health Care Facility Future Use: Residential, Commercial, Office United States Environmental Protection ^*^1 M * Agency Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization 560-F-23-326 ------- |