Gonzales council advances Edenborne development plan

GONZALES — The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to divide the 342-acre site known as Edenborne into four tracts. The vote moves the mixed-use development planned near the intersection of Interstate 10 and La. 44 another step closer to becoming a reality, Mayor Barney Arceneaux said.

Jackie Baumann, chief engineer for the city, told council members that developers have addressed the city’s initial permitting questions, which include plans for road work and storm water drainage. Developers are also in talks with the city over sewer and water tie-ins for the project, he said.

River Parishes Community College will build a facility on one of the tracts, said Bill Clark, one of Edenborne’s original investors who gave council members an update on the project’s progress.

The development will also include a retail area, office sites, single-family homes and multi-family dwellings, Clark said.

Edenborne is emerging from financial and legal troubles that escalated to the point that the site was sold for unpaid taxes.

Investors have paid off the project’s former lender and the back taxes, according to a project attorney and land records.

While the project lost some of its Michigan investors, it gained local backers, co-investor Brian Rickel said.

The new investors include Indianapolis Colts wide receiver and New Orleans-area native Reggie Wayne, Rickel said.

Rickel said he and Wayne were approached four months ago.

He said the growth and jobs in Ascension, as well as the industrial investment in the region, including the $3.4 billion Nucor steel mill in neighboring St. James Parish, made the project attractive.