Is Caddo Commission Putting Up $48 Million for Cross Bayou? [VIDEO]

Larry English, representing Gateway Development Consortium and their downtown Shreveport Cross Bayou building project, talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about the status of the 10 year project, the cost of which has increased from $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

English addresses stories that the Caddo Commission is ready to support the decade long undertaking by ponying up almost $50 million, a story that is disputed by a number of Caddo Coimmissioners.

English tells KEEL listeners that the estimated cost has increased by 50% because of the expanded building plans.

From shreveporttimes.com:

"The current proposal under consideration has been on the table for more than a year. It includes the development of 5,000 homes over the lifetime of the project, which is 10 to 15 years. The housing units along the waterfront would break down to 30 percent affordable, 30 percent luxury and 40 percent market rate.

Since Gateway Development presented the Cross Bayou proposal to the Caddo Commission, the originally estimated budget of $1 billion increased to $1.5 billion. With it increased the initial estimate of $46.7 million in public dollars and $417 million in private funds. The amount of area the project would cover went from 61 acres to 80. A design and build team and engineering firm are still calculating costs."

In referring to a previous statement in which he said that Shreveport "needed to step up with $10 million," English said he was referring to private investors, not city money.