More residential and commercial spaces coming to Downtown Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- There is quite a bit of growth expected in downtown Lafayette.

“There’s a lot of excitement in the air with new businesses opening left and right,” said Anita Begnaud, with the Lafayette Downtown Development Authority. “There’s a lot of promise of residential spaces to come and some great projects in the works.”
As CEO of Downtown Development Authority for past eight months, Begnaud said she’s seen tremendous growth in the area. 

New restaurant additions like Rock’n Bowl, Spoonbill, and Tula have helped to fill the need for more food options. While nightly local music performances keep Lafayette unique.

“We don’t want to be like another community, we don’t want to be a mini-Austin or mini-Nashville. We want to be wholly Lafayette,” Begnaud said.

Almost 6,000 people travel to the downtown area every day, she said.

Residents are going to the downtown district to work, dine and shop local. Soon there will be more spaces available those who want to live downtown. 

“We have 200 residential units in the works right now that are supposed to come online by the end of 2020. We will start the new decade with a lot more people living down here which will be more feet on the sidewalks,” said Begnaud. 

She explains how additional foot traffic is appealing to potential businesses who want to move to the area. 
“People who live down here want to shop down here, people who live down here want to work down here and vice versa. You will start to see the mix where people will be working and living down here so their neighborhood will be downtown Lafayette. There will be a new sense of pride and ownership of this area,” Begnaud said.