City-Parish President Joey Durel is asking the council to sign off on a resolution approving a pair of deals that would lead to razing the seedy Lesspay Motel at Four Corners to build a new police substation as well as transforming nearly a block Downtown where the old federal courthouse building now molders into a mixed-use development.
City-Parish President Joey Durel is asking the council to sign off on a resolution approving a complex financing deal that would lead to razing the seedy Lesspay Motel at Four Corners to build a new police substation as well as transforming nearly a block Downtown where the old federal courthouse building now molders into a mixed-use development.
The old federal courthouse on Jefferson Street has been used mainly as storage by LCG since it was purchased several years ago by the Lafayette Public Trust Finance on behalf of local government. It's costing LCG about $31,000 annually to maintain the site, and if the broken windows and pigeons roosting in the upper floors are any indication, that $31,000 is hardly covering it. The site also comprises the old Acadiana Open Channel building and former Lafayette Police Department main office - nearly a full block of buildings.
According the resolution the council will consider Tuesday, the LPTFA would take control of the site on the agreement that it be developed into a mixed-use commercial/residential project. Nathan Norris, the Downtown Development Authority's executive director, tells The Advocate DDA considers the project a priority in achieving its goal of substantially increasing residential development Downtown.
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