Project Build A Future Provides Affordable Housing, Revitalizes Neighborhoods
BY KARLA WALL
PBAF board president Brad Evans, PBAF executive director Charla Blake and Kingman Crossing project manager Henry Mancuso
Project Build a Future was founded in 2001 when Fr. Henry Mancuso, then pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Lake Charles, saw a need in his parish for affordable housing.
“Father Henry saw people working hard, oftentimes with multiple jobs, and still not able to afford home ownership,” says Charla Blake, Project Build a Future’s executive director.
Mancuso, along with local entrepreneur and philanthropist Willie King, who owns King’s Funeral Homes, formed a committee that would eventually become Project Build a Future (PBAF). Two legacy members are still on the board, Blake says. Since its founding, the organization has built and developed around 115 homes throughout the North Lake Charles area, and has rehabbed four homes as part of its neighborhood revitalization program.
PBAF has focused its efforts on North Lake Charles, says Blake, simply because it’s the area of biggest need. The organization works in the area bordered by Broad St. on the south, Hwy. 14/171 on the east, the Calcasieu River on the west, and Fitzenreiter Rd. on the north.
“The history of this part of the city began with the logging industry of the 1800s,” Blake says, “so it’s some of the oldest developed ground in the city. It’s an area still in need, as the housing stock tends to be some of the oldest in the city. It was largely damaged during Laura and Delta, and it still remains a food desert.”
Kingman Crossing
MOSS REED ARCHITECTS
The organization has done some work outside of the North Lake Charles region, Blake says, “but usually only for specific reasons, and monies made from (those) out-of-zone projects are funneled through the agency to help those clients in the north Lake Charles area.”
PBAF’s mission is simple, says Blake: “… to empower our clients by providing quality affordable housing opportunities and financial literacy education, and to serve as a catalyst for community revitalization.”
PBAF “isn’t a ‘build it and they will come’ organization,” says Blake. “We wait until the client is ready, and we build for them.”
After Hurricane Rita, the organization entered into the Affordable Housing Pilot Program, with local and state government as well as Habitat for Humanity-Calcasieu, to build 67 homes in North Lake Charles, a number of which have been rental properties.
In 2016 and 2017, the organization built six homes along V.E. Washington St., says Blake. “Those houses, combined with 10 additional single-family houses within a five-block radius, 16 homes total, create a cross-section of how PBAF like to revitalize neighborhoods — a mixture of homes for sale, new construction and rehabilitated homes.”
In 2022, PBAF built its first two-bed, one-and-a-half bath home. “We’ve now added that to our housing plan inventory,” Blake says.
PBAF currently has three houses under construction, says Blake, as well as an inventory of nine rental units, with another seven slated for building or purchase within the next two years. Their latest completed project was the renovation of the R.C. Reynaud family home. “We have two to three more on the development schedule for late 2024 and early 2025,” she says.
PBAF is also now building homes with a minimum of FORTIFIED roofing construction. “It’s a minimal cost that can provide a greater reward,” Blake says.
Future building plans, says Blake, include the Kingman Crossing neighborhood. Homes will be built to FORTIFIED Gold Standards, which call for a stronger roof, a stronger foundation and framing, and stronger doors and windows, all of which make the home more resistant to wind and water damage.
“These measures are more costly up front — in time, labor and materials — but it should provide savings in insurance and repairs over time. It should balance out in the long run,” says Blake.
Neighborhood Revitalization
PBAF’s mission includes neighborhood revitalization which includes more than building and renovating homes. The organization also advocates for better sidewalks, street lighting and property standards during the development phase of their projects and educates their clients on responsible home ownership.
Financial Education, Assistance
PBAF also offers financial literacy services such as debt consolidation and credit counseling, “thanks to grantors and funders who provide salary and programmatic support as well as time in the field,” says Blake.
Kingman Crossing
MOSS REED ARCHITECTS
The organization also works with lenders to provide assistance on down payment, through first-time homebuyer programs, first responder programs and assistance programs for veterans. It partners with the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury and other organizations on the Asset Builders program, which provides a matched savings account to be used for down payment and closing costs. And it works with other agencies and organizations to provide “gap funding,” since “we sell houses for less than we are paying to build them,” says Blake.
PBAF offers free homebuyer education classes, in partnership with the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury. These classes are open to the general public. Classes include presentations from local specialists such as insurance agents, attorneys and lenders. Applicants for a PBAF home must go through six months in the organization’s financial literacy program.
That these education efforts have paid off is made clear in a single statistic: Of PBAF’s 65-plus clients, there’s a “0-percent foreclosure rate,” says Blake. “We’re proud of our educational component,” she adds.
Qualifying For A PBAF Home
To qualify for a home, clients must have steady income of at least $25,000; but while PBAF does prioritize low- to moderate-income buyers, they serve any income level above that minimum.
The applicant must be willing to live in the North Lake Charles building area. They must also be willing to put in 100 “sweat equity” hours on the home. They must complete a HUD certified home buyer education course and obtain a certificate. And they must agree to a background check and credit report.
For more information or to apply for a home, visit projectbuildafuture.com.
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