The Kingspoint Soccer Fields in Slidell could be demolished and replaced with 160 new homes under a plan the city's zoning commission takes up Monday, after the city council voted 8-1 last week to annex the 55-acre site specifically to make the project possible. Developer Jeff Vallee wants to build the subdivision on land currently used for soccer, located south of U.S. Highway 190 and about six blocks southwest of Northshore High School, across Interstate 10 from Fremaux Town Center.
Vallee will present his plans directly to the Slidell Zoning Commission on Monday, according to NOLA.com. If approved, 41 of the 55 acres would be rezoned R-3 High Density Residential, a classification that under the City of Slidell's Unified Development Code, updated in April 2026, permits multi-family structures and attached single-family dwellings subject to zoning commission review and council approval. The remaining 14 acres would be zoned for commercial use. The land is owned by Soccer Field, LLC of Slidell, and Vallee's group has a conditional agreement to purchase the mostly wooded property, where the soccer fields currently sit in the southwest corner.
A Divided Council, an 8-1 Vote
The city council's October 13 annexation vote came with little outward controversy — no critics were present at the meeting — but behind the scenes, the board was split on timing. Councilwoman Megan Haggerty moved to delay the annexation vote until November to allow further study, a motion that failed 5-4 before the annexation itself passed 8-1 with Haggerty casting the lone no vote. Haggerty opposed the subdivision outright, arguing that the collective effects of residential development on infrastructure and services should be understood before moving forward.
Other council members framed the annexation as a practical fix for a utility gap. Vallee said extending city water and sewer lines across roughly half a mile of unserved area was his primary reason for seeking annexation into Slidell rather than developing under St. Tammany Parish jurisdiction, as the same NOLA.com report detailed. Councilwoman Leslie Denham argued that new employees moving to the area would need housing and that Slidell should provide it, framing the project as a benefit to the city and its residents.
A Developer Still Smarting From a Goodbee Setback
Vallee's push into Slidell city limits follows a bruising defeat on the parish's western side. In August 2026, Parish President Mike Cooper vetoed the parish council's approval of Vallee and H1 Associates' Isadora and Esperanza subdivisions near Goodbee, a pair of projects that would have added roughly 800 homes along U.S. Highway 190 and LA Highway 1077, according to WWL-TV. That fight also triggered a formal recall petition against District 3 Councilwoman Martha Cazaubon over infrastructure strain and high-density housing concerns, as reported by residents in a local Facebook group.
Parish leaders have repeatedly moved to slow high-density growth. In May 2022, the St. Tammany Parish Council unanimously enacted a temporary parish-wide moratorium on residential rezonings exceeding four housing units per acre, giving officials time for drainage, traffic, and wetland impact studies, according to the Northshore Home Builders Association. The parish council extended similar six-month moratoriums on higher-density rezonings and multi-family permits across several districts in January 2025, citing lagging drainage infrastructure. Those parish-level pauses help explain why a developer might instead seek annexation into a municipality like Slidell, where city utilities and a separate zoning process are available.
Housing Shortage Versus Local Pushback
St. Tammany Parish's population reached roughly 279,108 in 2025, a 12% increase over the prior decade that made it Louisiana's fourth most populous parish, per estimates reported by USAFacts. The parish's own Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment found that over 40% of the local workforce lives outside the parish and commutes in daily, a gap officials and developers alike point to as evidence that more housing supply is needed. Several proposed developments have been turned back in recent years amid resident concerns about traffic and other issues, and residents across St. Tammany Parish have continued raising objections to new projects.
Vallee has already invested $200,000 in engineering, surveying, and legal fees for the Kingspoint project, but he would be required to fund additional drainage and traffic studies before construction could begin if the zoning request is granted. Construction could not start until those studies are completed. Vallee said he expects the land sale to close in December or shortly after the start of 2027 if things proceed as planned, and he has said he plans to hold a town-hall-style meeting where residents can raise concerns and learn more about the project once it is approved.
