At least five interested in redeveloping old federal courthouse

At least five proposals for redeveloping the former federal courthouse property downtown have been submitted to the city.

Monday was the deadline for developers to submit ideas for redeveloping the long-vacant courthouse for commercial and residential use.

At least five developers submitted proposals by 5 p.m. Monday, said Carlee Alm-Labar, planning and development director for Lafayette Consolidated Government.

"We're certainly pleased with the interest," she said.

The public may not know what's in those proposals for a few weeks. After the number of applicants is narrowed by LCG staff, those making the cut are expected to be interviewed on May 4.

Nov. 6 tax election possible in Lafayette Parish

Although Alm-Labar had not looked at the proposals in detail Monday evening, she said most include teams of experts such as architects and designers, primarily from Louisiana. Some include team members with experience in historical preservation since the building, constructed in 1958, may qualify for historical tax credits.

The former federal courthouse and former city police station, both fronting the 700 block of Jefferson Street, and the former Acadiana Open Channel building on East Main Street currently occupy the two acres available for redevelopment.

The city of Lafayette bought the courthouse in 2001 for $800,000 using a grant from the Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority. The old courthouse has largely been unused since. It costs LCG $30,000-$40,000 every year to maintain and the city loses an estimated $160,000 in property taxes every year.

For years it was held with the intention of some day building a new parish courthouse on the property. But voters in 2006 rejected a new property tax to build a new parish courthouse and LCG instead spent millions renovating the existing courthouse.

Lafayette's going to have a medical marijuana pharmacy