On Friday, December 6, 2024, Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter and partners from ReNew Lake Charles LLC announced a lakefront hotel and state-of-the-art amphitheater. 

Private investment group ReNew Lake Charles LLC will build, own and manage a 154-room Hilton Garden Inn just north of the Lake Charles Event Center. The hotel will be built on property leased from the City.

The hotel will feature a full-service restaurant and lounge overlooking the lake, both of which will be open to hotel and non-hotel guests. The hotel will also feature a second-story pool.

Additional conference and convention center space, designed with the needs of modern meetings and events in mind, will be built and owned by the City of Lake Charles. The hotel paired with the additional conference and convention center space will attract new, regional conventions and conferences that currently bypass Lake Charles due to the antiquated meeting space inside the Lake Charles Event Center, the fact that there is no dedicated convention hotel attached to the Lake Charles Event Center, and the fact that many groups will not or cannot utilize casinos for a variety of reasons.

“ReNew will create a modern, first-class experience that will anchor Southwest Louisiana’s future as a capable host destination,” said ReNew Lake Charles, LLC Managing Member Gene Thibodeaux, retired Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeal. 

“The new combined conference space and hotel will be able to host a diverse array of events in a contemporary venue that will accommodate commerce, meetings and banquets here in Lake Charles. No longer will groups have to travel to Lafayette or Beaumont for their events. We can host them right here in Lake Charles and bring activity back to our downtown lakefront,” expressed Renew Lake Charles, LLC member Keith DuRousseau, owner of Keiland Construction. 

“Hilton Hotels is pleased to be working with the City of Lake Charles and ReNew Lake Charles, LLC.  Lake Charles is a growing market for Hilton, and it is our goal to offer new and innovative accommodations to the local community and our 200 million Hilton Honors guests,” said Corey Mitchell, Senior Director of Hilton Development. 

“We feel downtown Lake Charles is in need of an upscale hotel to bring more guests to the area.  I’ve been coming to Lake Charles for a number of years and am very impressed with its forward-thinking direction, not just for the community, but also to bring in more business and tourism,” Mitchell added.

The City of Lake Charles also announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement with the owners of the former Capital One Tower site and will use the space as a creative new home for the lakefront amphitheater project that was included in the LC REBOUND bond proposal.

This purchase includes the land the tower once sat on and the adjacent parking garage.  

“Like carefully crafted puzzle pieces, these projects and their strategic locations within the Lake Charles Event Center grounds and this newly acquired property will help us better connect the lakefront, new hotel, and Lake Charles Event Center with the heart of downtown Lake Charles,” explained Mayor Nic Hunter. 

The new, more modern amphitheater will have a capacity of 3,500 and will allow for an immensely higher quality experience for events that use the current amphitheater, but it will also have the modern design and features to attract new, exciting live music events and festivals.  

Kyle Edmiston, President and CEO of Visit Lake Charles commented, “The combination of this proposal has the ability to leapfrog Lake Charles into a new class of destination locations. The new hotel, conference center space, and amphitheater all in close proximity to each other will bring in net new visitors, conferences, and revenue to our community. We currently lose out on multiple conferences and conventions because of the lack of amenities at the Lake Charles Event Center. We have needed this for years, and this will be a game changer for Lake Charles.” 

“These monumental economic development projects are coming at no additional tax burden to citizens,” explained Mayor Hunter. “This is the true beauty of public-private partnerships. Developments like this do not happen in a vacuum. They are a win not just for the City, or citizens and our visitors, but for our locally owned businesses as well.”

Construction on all aspects is expected to get underway in late 2025 and be complete in early 2027. City Council action will be needed to move forward on these projects. The Council will consider agenda items related to these proposed developments at their regularly scheduled meeting on Dec 18, 2024. 

Two opportunities for the community to view the plans, ask questions, and offer comment will take place at Lake Charles City Hall (326 Pujo St.) from noon-2 pm and 5-7 pm on Wednesday, December 11, 2024. 

For more information on this project, including a view of project renderings, click the link below.

Lakefront Hotel and Amphitheater Renderings