OPELOUSAS — The Gateway to Acadiana commercial project planned for the area near Evangeline Downs in Opelousas will feature stores, an RV resort, a multiuse facility and cultural community center, officials announced Thursday.
Working in tandem with Boyd Gaming, the company that owns Evangeline Downs, the development will have a multiuse expo and event center along the eastern Interstate 49 frontage road and an RV resort next door to the casino along Creswell Lane, said Bill Rodier, executive director of the St. Landry Economic Development office.
"This is big, and I think this is a lot bigger than just St. Landry and Opelousas really," Rodier said. "We're looking at the potential for growth along the I-49 corridor from I-10 up to Evangeline Parish.
"With its strategic location at the crossroads of I-49 and Highway 190, if this property is done correctly in the manner we see with this plan, this will create an anchor for the entire northern Acadiana region and the entire I-49 corridor," Rodier added.
Funding for the project will include a mix of public and private money, officials said. Once they break ground, the project will take 18 months to complete.
Rodier said there are a lot of potential options for businesses as the project develops, but they don't have a hard figure yet on how many jobs this could bring.
He estimates that it has potential generate hundreds of jobs in Opelousas.
It will have over 207,750 square feet for commercial development, which will feature a general store and food hall, a boardwalk along the a marshland retention lake and a pedestrian plaza.
Market feasibility studies show that developing only one-third of the property for commercial use would be viable. Officials with St. Landry Economic Development say they are negotiating with a national retail developer who is interested in building the retail center.
"We wanted the wetland feature What we wanted to capture was not just a big parking lot with buildings, but that this is the Gateway to Acadiana as Opelousas is a bit of a crossroads. The water element is nice geographically, but also allows us to develop something that shows off the natural character of Acadiana," said Charlie Kolarik with Populous, the architecture firm that designed the master plan.
The project will include a large area of open space, and much of the forested area that acts as a buffer between the land and residential areas will remain mostly undeveloped and be designated as a recreational area with walking trails. It will also include retention ponds and a large lake near the RV resort.
Officials say they hope the expo center's covered event arena and stall barn, which will allow for rodeo and other equine events on 52.5 acres of land, will bring people to nearby and local retail stores, restaurants and hotels. There will also be a convention hall built and there additional room to expand for more stall barn space in the future.
"We hope the event center that is a big structure that projects the character of Acadiana to people traveling along I-49 will be a major benefit to the project. Since these types of events won't generate a ton of money for the expo center, we're building this hoping it will bring about a much larger economic impact to the area," Kolarik said.
The RV resort will have 315 state-of-the-art RV pads and will have a pool, kayak and boat rentals at the retention lake, an amphitheater and tennis and volleyball courts next to a playground. It will also have a connecting path to the walking trails.
Both market feasibility consultants for the project said the RV resort was one of the most economically viable additions to the project. A developer is already interested in building and managing the RV resort.
The historic silos along the frontage road will be preserved with a cultural center to be built next door.
"This means a broader tax base, more options for retail and restaurants and venues and job opportunities. I think this is the future. We're poised at the gateway to Acadiana and it's the natural low hanging fruit to consider this the natural anchor for all future developments going forward," said Buddy Helton, chairman of the Central St. Landry Economic District.
Email Dan Boudreaux at dboudreaux@theadvocate.com.
