Westlake Sues Builder and Architect Over $6 Million National Golf Club of Louisiana Clubhouse
The City of Westlake, Louisiana, has sued the builder and architect of the $6 million clubhouse at its city-owned course, The National Golf Club of Louisiana, KPLC reported Nov. 5. Temporary reinforcements are in place and the clubhouse remains open.
The City of Westlake, Louisiana, has filed suit against the builder and the architect of the $6 million clubhouse at The National Golf Club of Louisiana, its city-owned public course, over structural concerns identified about four years after the building opened. The defendants are Miller and Associates Development Company and King Architects, KPLC reported Nov. 5. The clubhouse, which includes The Max restaurant and the pro shop, remains open to the public.
In a statement, the city said it "continues to work with the architect and contractor to reach an amicable solution. The City filed suit to preserve its rights in the event the parties cannot resolve the matter." An attorney for King Architects said the firm is cooperating with the city to find a resolution, according to KPLC. Temporary reinforcements keep the building safe and operational, including a support wall underneath in the cart barn, structural posts and beams throughout the kitchen and dining room, and additional bracing walls.
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The clubhouse is a 16,000-square-foot, two-story building owned and operated by the city, The Acadiana Advocate reported. Golf cart storage occupies the ground level and the restaurant sits on the second level, with the pro shop in the same building. The Advocate put the cost at $6 million, paid through a combination of city, parish and state tax dollars. The building was completed at the end of 2021, and the American Press reported a soft opening that December.
The city noticed possible problems while installing sound barriers in The Max's dining area. Mayor Hal McMillin told the Advocate, "There was some unevenness." Engineer Byron Racca of Meyer & Associates wrote to the mayor on Sept. 4, 2025, that a preliminary assessment found signs of structural problems in multiple locations, the Advocate reported. The city then hired Basin Engineering of New Orleans to investigate "walls settling, uneven floors, columns buckling and doors sticking."
At a Jan. 29, 2026 meeting, an engineer hired by the city warned that the second level could "fall or cave in" without immediate action, according to the Advocate's account of meeting audio. The engineer said temporary walls could relieve the immediate concern, while a long-term fix would need a full structural evaluation. In February, the Westlake City Council unanimously authorized the mayor to hire the Stutes & Lavergne Law Firm over the clubhouse. Dale Clary, an attorney for King Architects, called the structural concerns "only theoretical" and said, "At this point, King Architects disagrees there are any structural issues." Tom Gayle, an attorney for Miller and Associates, said, "we are at the infancy of this discussion and are looking for more information before we can weigh in on the situation."
On March 6, The Max's dining room closed, two days after the city received an engineering report. The city attributed the closure to renovations, and the bar and pro shop stayed open. Later in March, McMillin signed a 60-day state of emergency, the Advocate reported March 23. The declaration said the clubhouse "presents an immediate risk of partial structural failure, posing a danger to human life, safety and public property," and it allowed the city to skip normal bidding to stabilize the building.
The engineering report has not been released, and the city's attorney denied public records requests for it from the Advocate and KPLC. No repair cost is public, and KPLC's report does not name the court, the filing date or a damages figure.
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Another government-owned clubhouse built with public money, Warminster Township's new Five Ponds Golf Club clubhouse in Pennsylvania, is breaking ground on a $25 million, 27,000-square-foot building. In Westlake, the public clubhouse is less than five years old, was paid for with city, parish and state money, and is braced by temporary reinforcements while the city and the two firms work toward a permanent fix.
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