A recent redevelopment study shows how a new Downtown Lafayette performing arts center could lead to private investment.
The proposed redevelopment could include convenient new parking structures, new outdoor performance spaces, restaurants and retail, according to the redevelopment study released Thursday by Downtown Lafayette Unlimited.
The concept plan, which was commissioned by the Downtown Development Authority earlier this year, illustrates how a 2,200 seat performing arts center could be situated along Congress Street adjacent to the bank tower.
The plan would be transformational, adding more than 750 structured parking spaces, residential units, additional restaurants and retail buildings, as well as accommodate a new outdoor performance area.
The site, located only one block from Jefferson Street, is one of nine similarly sized parcels downtown that could serve as the site of a new performing arts center. The redevelopment study was commissioned to show just one example of how a downtown performing arts center would function, Downtown Development Authority CEO Anita Begnaud said.
Lafayette Consolidated Government has already budgeted funding for structured parking downtown. And the addition of parking in the area presents several opportunities for private investors to build businesses that would complement a performing arts center, like restaurants, hotels, and retail.
“An entertainment venue like a performing arts center is only truly successful as part of an overall quality experience for visitors. This is why the national trend over the last several decades has been to locate performing arts centers in downtowns,” Begnaud said.
