Around Town

Former Jefferson St. Market back on track for Perficient

The former Jefferson Street Market building on the 500 block of its eponymous avenue in Downtown Lafayette appears to be back on track to becoming the future home of a tech firm.

The City-Parish Council on Tuesday will vote on a resolution that, if approved, would grant Jefferson Street Market LLC a restoration tax abatement, which would make the building’s owners eligible for an up to 10-year break on property taxes on the building. The Restoration Tax Abatement program is a program created by the state to allow cities to offer incentives for expansion, improvement and development with downtown development and historic districts.

The 24,000 square-foot property on Jefferson was formerly a multi-tenant market and then served as a temporary home for the Lafayette Public Library’s main branch nearby during the four years the main branch was being renovated. The building was purchased by Jefferson Street Market LLC in 2010 from Rob and Catherine Robison for just under $1.1 million. Renovations to the building are expected to run about $1.6 million, according to documents associated with the resolution. The current assessed value of the building is roughly $950,000.

Perficient is a Missouri-based technology consulting firm. Its Lafayette operation is expected to employ at least 200 people. Plans to occupy the Jefferson Street location hit a snag this summer when the council balked at offering a discounted lease on parking spaces in the nearby Parc Auto du Centreville parking tower. The company will lease the spaces at the going rate instead of a discounted rate.