More than 500 apartment units planned for north Covington

The Covington City Council will soon be asked to annex 18 acres of land along the city’s northern fringe to clear the way for construction of a 288-unit apartment complex, a development that would add to a mini-boom in what had been a countrified section of St. Tammany Parish. To be called the Reagan Crossing Apartments, the multi-family development would front Ronald Reagan Highway near the intersection of Louisiana 25, adjacent to the fledgling Oak Alley subdivision and its 295 home sites.

Reagan Crossing would be immediately west of another set of planned apartments, Faubourg St. John, a 244-unit complex currently working its way through the city’s subdivision review process. Also in the immediate area is the proposed Covington Commons, a retail/office development whose first phase is in the works.

While the developments have excited the economic development crowd, they have also sounded an alarm among those concerned about overburdening the area’s infrastructure. City Council President Lee Alexius said he and others are concerned about how the Reagan Crossing development and the other projects, which are in various stages of development, will impact traffic and city utilities. With the annexation for Reagan Crossing likely to come before the council in early September, he and other officials will delve deeply into the issue over the next several weeks.

“Of course, my initial feeling is ‘What’s the need for more than 500 apartments?'” Alexius said.

Various traffic studies by the state and the Regional Planning Commission are underway. Officials said they are eagerly awaiting the results.

Reagan Crossing, LLC, the developer of the project, is requesting the annexation and a rezoning of the 18-acre wooded property for multi-family and regional commercial use. Under the developer’s plan, about three acres of the project would be set aside for two commercial developments fronting on Ronald Reagan Highway.