LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — The skyline of Downtown Lafayette is about to change. Developers have announced the plan to significantly break the record for the tallest building in Acadiana. Something they say has not been done in 40 years.
The 20 story Seven16 Lafayette Tower has a coming soon sign placed across from the downtown library and next to the federal courthouse.
Wednesday it was announced a floor or room could be yours if you are willing to put the money down for space.
Drone footage shows what it would look like at the top floor of Seven16 Lafayette Tower.
Currently, the Chase Building and Doubletree hotel hold the current title of Acadiana’s tallest buildings at 15 stories and 16 stories, but Seven16 Lafayette Tower plans to be 4 stories higher.
“Of course we wanted to surpass that and be the tallest in Acadiana, so we’re hovering over 260 feet,” Developer Clifton Guidry of Guidry Land Development explained.
The Lafayette Tower plans more than just a bird’s eye view. Guidry said of the 20 floors, the first seven will be for parking, floor 8 will have a luxury restaurant with outdoor seating, floors 9-16 will be commercially sold or leased, and the top three floors will be apartments, condos, or luxury hotel with a rooftop bar and lounge.
The Lafayette Downtown Development Authority says a new multi-use tower is the next layer of bringing opportunities to the area.
“Downtowns are made up of a lot of different components, and they’re successful when those components really start to come together. So revitalizing existing spaces, filling gaps where there may be a surface parking lot or a piece of grassy real estate downtown is another part of it,” said Anita Begnaud, CEO of the Lafayette Downtown Development Authority.
But making the $140M project a reality all depends on one thing. Buyers. Guidry hopes to have enough sales or leases by October to justify the dual towers. If so, construction is expected to take two additional years.
“Hopefully, we have enough activity that allows us to move forward. I think regardless if we get even half of it done, you’ll see this building built,” Guidry added.
