Growing West in St. Tammany

by Stephen Faure

Remember Miss Linda’s charge to the Romper Room crowd to be a Do Bee, not a Don’t Bee? If Miss Linda were around today in western St. Tammany Parish, she’d hear that the buzz is all about Goodbee.

Goodbee lies at the crossroads of U.S. 190 and Hwy 1077 just west of Covington and north of Madisonville. For many years, it was marked by a gas station and an awkward jog in the road. Times are certainly changing! Although it’s poised for growth, the community of Goodbee maintains its country atmosphere.

The green buffers that you see remaining as the community grows are due in large part to the active participation of the Goodbee Homeowners Association in the development process. Its members have been vocal advocates for the conservation of as much natural landscape as possible. New subdivisions are being designed with generous no-cut buffers along the highways, and the timberlands that cover the area provide a lush backdrop for their home sites.

Two of the reasons for Goodbee’s attraction as the next place for growth are obvious: the convergence of highways and the opportunity to do adequate planning. The parish is readying plans to keep traffic moving as the community grows, learning from many of the shortcomings that plague other area thoroughfares, such as Hwys 21 and 22. Goodbee’s grid of access includes I-12, Hwy 190 connecting Covington to Hammond, Hwy 1077 that connects Madisonville to the horse country north towards Folsom, and Hwy 1085, which quickly connects the Coquille Sports center area to Hwy 21’s healthcare, restaurants and shopping. Goodbee is close enough to be convenient and boasts enough roads to provide a driver with choices!

Some of the growth coming into Goodbee and west St. Tammany has been accelerated by the parish’s post-Katrina population boom and the resulting increased demand for housing. The area’s 36-foot elevation over mean sea level and its location above the all-important I-12 line in the sand now being drawn by insurance companies are seen as distinct advantages by developers. Approximately 1,000 lots are planned in new subdivisions along Hwy 1077 north of U.S. 190, including Northridge Estates, Eagle Landing, Tantella Ranch Estates, Villas West, Bedico Ranch and Countryside. They offer all the modern conveniences: sub-surface utilities, paved roads, central water and sewage. Many have large-lot offerings, and some blend a variety of home-site styles to meet the needs of a range of buyers that includes empty nesters and growing families alike.

According to consultant Bernard Fromherz, the Countryside project, a 285-acre parcel being developed just north of the main intersection of Goodbee, will remain very green. “The piney woods of the former tree farm were unharmed by Katrina and provide a uniquely natural choice as far as neighborhoods go,” he says. Homeowners in Countryside will have another perk to look forward to. Working with the local community hospital as a resource, the developers are adding a heart-healthy walking path through the natural landscape. “Keeping our community healthy is our top priority,” says Patti Ellish, CEO of St. Tammany Parish Hospital. “This is an excellent opportunity to educate residents on the importance of exercise to a healthy lifestyle and provides a great outreach for our Cardiac Wellness Program.”

In addition to the neighborhoods and recreation areas, Countryside will also bring new businesses to Goodbee. A recently constructed cross street, Countryside Boulevard, provides a bypass to the main intersection and visibility for tenants on the main thoroughfares of 190 and 1077. “Neighborhood drug stores and dry cleaners will be the next wave of commercial development coming to Goodbee,” says Fromherz.

Education

Adding to the allure of the corridor from a homebuyers’ perspective are the educational and recreation advantages. While there are sometimes price incentives to cross into Tangipahoa parish, families often choose their location for access to great schools. Much of the Goodbee area is in the public school districts that include Madisonville Elementary and Madisonville Junior High. The Madisonville schools boast some of the highest performance scores in the state. According to Linda Roan, St. Tammany Parish School Board communications director, the latest bond issue included funds for renovating the existing schools, and the board is looking for land west of Madisonville to build a new elementary school in the future. When high school rolls around, it is a short drive down Hwy 190 to Covington High, St. Scholastica and St. Paul’s. There is also an exciting new choice on the horizon.

Archbishop Hannan High School is one of the highest profile Hurricane Katrina refugees to relocate to St. Tammany after the storm. Operating on a temporary basis from St. Joseph Abbey since the storm, the Archdiocese of New Orleans chose the intersection of Highways 1077 and 1085 for the co-ed Catholic school’s new permanent home.

Although John Cavell, Hannan High’s new principal, had not yet been hired when the archdiocese chose the school’s new site, he thinks it’s an excellent location. Cavell says, “Even prior to Hurricane Katrina, there was a need for another Catholic high school on the northshore. The demand was there. After Hurricane Katrina, and the influx of residents to St. Tammany Parish and the northshore area from the southshore region, the need was amplified. With the damage sustained to the old high school in Meraux, it was evident the school could not reopen in that location. The archdiocese made a decision to relocate the school to St. Tammany to accommodate the influx of residents from the southshore. There were a lot of students who moved from St. Bernard to St. Tammany following the storm, so moving the high school to this area was really a matter of the school following the population.”

Archbishop Alfred Hughes presided over the school’s groundbreaking ceremony, which took place on July 31. He noted the occasion as moving “forward to turn victim-hood into victory.” The archbishop also recognized the contribution of Abbott Justin and the other monks at St. Joseph for “...making it possible that the school continue in existence even as we await the completion of this new building project.” He added, “What they have done in welcoming Archbishop Hannan High School to their property and facilitating the continued work of education and formation there has been an extraordinary gift not only to Hannan but to the Archdiocese of New Orleans.”

Recreation

If you live west of the Tchefuncte River in St. Tammany, you’re probably part of Recreation District 14. Your kids can take part in what the Coquille Sports Complex has to offer at its location at the intersection of Hwys 1085 and 1077. Baseball, basketball, football, softball and soccer are all on tap at the Coquille Sports Complex—home to the 2007 Dixie League World Series Champion Madisonville Dixie Belles 13-15-year-old girls’ fast-pitch softball team.

Coquille has been home to youth sports in western St. Tammany since 2002, says supervisor Bill Trepagnier, explaining that the gymnasium was completed in December of that year. Baseball and football seasons at Coquille started in 2003. The complex has been a great resource for the area, with over 1,000 kids participating in various sports each year.

The complex now hosts five baseball and three softball fields, two football/soccer fields; the gymnasium contains two regulation basketball courts. The district purchased more land north of the complex this year in anticipation of future expansion—more baseball, softball, soccer, football and practice fields.

A traditional “country” recreation business that takes full advantage of the Goodbee area’s rural character is Tallow Creek Shooting Grounds on Hwy 1077. A full-featured shooting facility, Tallow Creek offers skeet, sporting clays and rifle and pistol ranges. Tallow Creek also offers guided quail hunts on its 186-acre game preserve.

Owner Mike Dunnington says August and September are busy months on the range. Hunters preparing for the upcoming duck season take to the skeet range, sharpening skills dulled by months of waiting since last season’s hunts. Duck hunters are soon followed by deer hunters sighting in their guns hoping to take a buck or two in the fall.

“A lot of my business comes from the oilfield,” Dunnington says. Oil and oilfield service companies hold get-togethers centered on sporting clay and skeet tournaments, hosting as many as 300 guests at a time.

Doing Business in Goodbee

Goodbee is situated on the important I-12 corridor, eastern Louisiana’s main east-west artery and connection to the rest of the United States. The St. Tammany Parish Economic Development Foundation is leading the way in a five-parish (Washington, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Livingston and St. Helena) effort to market the corridor as the prime location for new business development. Goodbee’s location as an on-ramp to the I-12 corridor has it primed as a major player in the business growth.

Champagne Beverage, the Covington-based Anheuser-Busch distributor, is building a 182,000-square-foot distribution and warehouse facility on 58 acres at Hwy 1085 and Spice Road. According to president Joel Champagne, “In early 2005 I began exploring the options of expanding my current facility or building a new one. The decision was made to expand at our current location and stay there for 8-10 more years. Then came Katrina! With the population explosion across the area, my plan was scrapped in favor of a move to the I-12/Hwy 1077 interchange.”

The site has plenty of room for potential expansion—enough to triple the company’s sales volume, notes Champagne. “We will be poised for growth at the new location. The efficiencies we will achieve with this move will be very measurable and lead to more man-hours servicing our customers versus sitting in traffic on Hwy 21 trying to get into Covington.”

Joel Champagne isn’t alone. Other companies of note who have chosen to work in Goodbee include Diversified Foods, the spice producer for Popeye’s Chicken franchises across the country; MECO, a manufacturer of water purification systems servicing the military, pharmaceutical and oil and gas industries; and Acadian Millwork and Supply, which is relocating to Goodbee from its present Mandeville location. Medline Industries, Inc. also maintains a major regional distribution facility at the I-12 interchange.

Under development and ready to cement Goodbee’s status as a crossroads of commerce are two new business parks: Northpointe Business Park and Ashland Oaks Business Park. They join an existing industrial development, Deer Cross Industrial Park CCTV Imports, a nationwide importer and distributor of closed-circuit television and surveillance equipment, has had its headquarters in the Goodbee area for seven years. Melissa Foster, sales and marketing director, says the company’s offices and a 24,000-square-foot warehouse and showroom have been in Deer Cross for one year. Owner Kevin Lazaroe likes the location because the park has plenty of room for expansion.

Northpointe managing partner Chris Lopez says the development is zoned for light industrial use. Office condominiums will be built near the entrance of the 118-acre site. “The great part about it is that it’s almost a mile north of I-12. From a hurricane standpoint, north of I-12 is a good place to be. It’s not far from I-55 and I-59—wherever you want to go,” he adds.

Providing a Zen-inspired calm to commerce is Bonsai Northshore, which has called Goodbee home for many years. The nursery specializes in bonsai specimens, some of which are hundreds of years old. Members of the staff are considered some of the foremost experts in bonsai in the country.

Another long-time business resident is the Fancy Faces event-production company. Fancy Faces has traveled far and wide from its home base to bring a uniquely Louisiana feel to special parties and conventions for many corporate clients. The Goodbee firm produces a line of special carnival masks and fancy faces that are sold across the country.

Though you may not realize it, you probably have tasted a little bit of heaven from a Goodbee oven. Patisserie JoAnn has been tempting the northshore sweet tooth and catered get-togethers for more than 15 years.

Infrastructure

The Volunteer Fire Department acts as the guardian angel for Goodbee residents. The fire station is next door to the area’s community center, a “town hall” of sorts that serves as a meeting place for the citizenry and the area’s polling place come election time.

There are some new developments in the offing here, too. The Fire Department recently took delivery of a brand-new fire truck, and a new fire station and community center are to be built on the property. The new community center will be twice the size of the present facility. The hall will still serve as a meeting place for citizens’ groups but will also be available for rent for social functions.

St. Tammany Parish is embarking on several road-improvement projects in the Goodbee area. In various stages of development, they include four-laning Hwys 1077 and 1085 in high traffic areas and widening the ramps and improving signals at the 1077/I-12 interchange.

An interesting development is the parish’s plan to install traffic roundabouts along Hwys 1085 and 1077. Roundabouts are designed to reduce delays caused by turning vehicles and to improve safety by reducing speed. Roundabouts are planned for Hwy 1085 at the Coquille Sports Complex and Spice Road, and on 1077 at the intersection with 1085 and at the entrances to Archbishop Hannan High School and Northpointe.

Good News for Goodbee

With its prime location at the on-ramp to the I-12 corridor, Goodbee will lead the next expansion of western St. Tammany Parish. Business leaders and community activists alike are staking their claim to the natural charms of the community. Together, they will provide a very livable green space for families and retirees, recreational opportunities for every age group, great schools and beautiful home sites “out in the country.”