Philly Businessman Earns Unanimous Vote for a $240 Million Plan to Build a Smart Technology Community in Shreveport, Louisiana

SHREVEPORT, LA – August 16, 2018 – John A. Henry, Jr., CEO of Philadelphia based Chariot Companies earned approval to redevelop Shreveport’s oldest country club and revitalize the surrounding neighborhood as a next generation smart technology community. The $240 million plan will include a nine hole semi-private executive golf course, 600 residences, full-service clubhouse and entertainment facilities, office space, a 100-room smart hotel and Chariot Labs, a K-12 STEM education and vocational training institute.

Henry’s plan is a win win for Shreveport because it will not seek resources from the city and it brings needed capital to northwest Shreveport that has declined due to disinvestment.  Henry’s plan will connect the physical and digital realm to provide seamless access to unique services and amenities that will improve the convenience of daily life.

“This is a great example of what could be done, not only here, but throughout the inner city of Shreveport,” said Mark Sweeney, Executive Director of the Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission.

The development, Kaya Shreveport, will bring an estimated 1,120 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs to a city with an unemployment rate that lags behind the state and national average.

“The unanimous decisions by the Shreveport City Council and the Shreveport Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission to move forward on Chariot Companies’ plan to create a smart technology community signals forward thinking leadership,” said Henry, “Smart technology communities were once the wave of the future, but the future is now. Projects like Kaya Shreveport are sound investments because they are ideal for residents, city governments and developers. This project will leverage the grandeur of an elegant country club community and merge innovative digital systems to improve the socio-economic, health and educational outcomes of the community.”

The project will include nearly 1 million square feet of commercial and residential space:

·      State-of-the-art, semi-private, nine hole executive golf course

·      Collection of restaurants and premier banquet facility

·      600 residences

·      Chariot Labs, a new K-12 educational and vocational facility

·      20.5 acres of connected public open space

·      10 miles of interconnected walking trails

·      One-hundred room smart hotel

To receive continued updates on the progress of the project, visit kayashreveport.com.

 

About Chariot Companies:
Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, Chariot Companies, LLC is a minority-owned, mission-based diversified community development entity with five core business platforms focused on economic, social and racial equity. Chariot Companies brings creative, thoughtful and innovative win-win strategies, designs and structures to communities leading to shared-value, job-creation and sustainable economic growth.

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