West Monroe marina’s progress giving hope to businesses

WEST MONROE, La. (KNOE) - Business owners in West Monroe’s Antique Alley are excited about the completion of phase one for the marina on the Ouachita River. Karen Laban, owner of The Spice and Tea Exchange says area association members are hoping to see their businesses boom.

“Merchants and the association, we’re very excited about having this marina up and running,” Laban said.

She believes that this will bring more traffic and activity to the area and attract events to come to the area.

“It’ll just give us one more thing to be able to promote our downtown as a destination,” Laban said.

Antique Alley is already seeing new faces like Anahy Saterfie, owner of the new boutique Vence & Co. at 309 Wood Street.

“Knowing about the future plans with the marina and just the future plans that they offer into the alley in general, that was a key reason why we decided to go ahead and invest in this building on Wood Street,” Saterfie explained.

She finds the diversity in the area attracts people to the businesses.

“To know that there are different businesses that are in here, especially on Wood Street. And just in Antique Alley in general. It just enlarges the experience for everyone,” Saterfie said.

Laban says it will also attract new business to vacant properties and bring some neighbors close to the river.

“As foot traffic builds and there’s more development along commerce street we feel that you know that’s only going to add to the downtown and help it to continue to grow,” Laban said.

She wants to see people use the marina to spend time and fully experience what Antique Alley has to offer.

“Come to the downtown, maybe grab some lunch, do some shopping, take a little break from the water,“ Laban said.

There is not a set date at this time for phase one completion. West Monroe Mayor Staci Mitchell said she has a meeting on August 5, 2022, to discuss the timeline and updates on the project.

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