Lafourche re-evaluates property

An old Wal-mart in Mathews and the Daily Comet building in Thibodaux will soon have new meanings in Lafourche Parish. Parish President Charlotte Randolph said the newly renovated buildings will change to the central Lafourche government complex and the Thibodaux library, respectively.

However, before the parish can move into the renovated buildings, it has to sell the old ones first, Randolph said. The buildings for sale in the parish are the Barrios building and the old Galliano Public Library.

Government property for sale

The Barrios building was inundated with water after Hurricane Gustav’s winds ripped off the roof, flooding the building.

Randolph said the parish still used the building in the days after the water subsided; however, a mold-like substance growing in the building caused a health hazard to those who occupied the building – the Department of Public Works, Permit and Planning Office, Council on Aging, Community Action, Head Start, Office of Emergency Preparedness and the council chambers.

The parish government offices were moved to the old Wal-mart building in Mathews. And, the Barrios building was deemed “For Sale.”

Unfortunately, no one responded to the Barrios building vacancy advertisement. Randolph said the ad is coming out again in more media outlets.

Interested buyers will be asked to submit a bid proposal. The parish had the building appraised and the suggested valued is $170,000. Randolph said the price includes the building and the parking area.

The building is still mold infested; however, and a parish contractor estimated that it would cost another $75,000 remove the mold-like substance.

The council had thought the parish could just renovate the Barrios building. However, Randolph does not know how much the parish would pay to redo the building. She assumes it will cost more than selling the building.

“If the parish tears down the building, the value of the property will increase significantly because of the accessibility of the property and the parking area,” she said, “buying the building as is will cost less.”

The parish also has the Galliano Public Library available for sale. The new library was opened 2007. Randolph was unsure of the asking price for the Galliano building.

Randolph said there is no reason for good buildings like these to be vacant.

“We need to use every inch of the parish that we can to keep growing,” she said. “If those buildings are just sitting there, they are not doing anybody any good. We need to have other government agencies or non-government agencies take them over.”

Purchasing the old Wal-Mart in Mathews

Since leaving the Barrios building, Randolph said the area is deserted.

“To see it empty is interesting,” she said, recalling the days and nights the parish employees had to spend there during hurricanes and emergency situations.

As time passed, the old government complex in Raceland outgrew the services that were housed inside of it.

Randolph said it came to a point that several departments had to store their filing cabinets in storage.

When the parish purchased the old Wal-mart for $750,000, the council hired Thibodaux-architect Richard Weimer to formulate a design to conform it into a one-story government complex – the Mathews Government Complex.

“The architect is looking at petitioning off the building, adding solid walls around each department with smaller walls within them,” Randolph explained. “We don’t want to change the sprinkler system or the lighting system, so we plan to work around them. It is more cost effective.

“The council chambers will have their own section. The council clerk will have an office to store documents, and the council will have a separate executive session room just as it did at the Barrios building.”

Randolph continued that the building also allows for more privacy within the departments.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to have more elbow room,” she said. “The lack of privacy has been the main gripe with the departments. Having a private conversation with constituents is important. You don’t want to be interrupted for any type of reason.”

The council has approved the first set of designs. According to Randolph, it made minor adjustments.

“They would have preferred to build a new complex,” she said. “Everybody wants to see the government complexes in good condition. But, I think we have sufficient space at the old Wal-mart.”

How much the overhaul will set the parish back is the ultimate question. A price tag has not been placed on the reconstruction, yet. The council set aside $250,000 for the renovations. However, Randolph said, the architect figured the costs would total a little over $1 million.

“We are still working out how much it will cost,” Randolph said. “The building has great parking. Even with the congested traffic in the area, it is still a central location for the government complex.”

Daily Comet office to become public library

Initial plans were for the library to be housed in a new building on La. 308 near Canal Boulevard. Unfortunately, an ongoing dispute with architect Jay Caillouet has complicated the process.

The council instead opted to buy the Daily Comet building on West Fifth Street building for $2.3 million.

“The building is very accessible,” Randolph said. “The children have sidewalks in the downtown area, and the side streets have less traffic. This is a preferred site than the earlier one.”

The Daily Comet workers have a new home, 104 Hickory St. in Thibodaux.

Randolph said the newspaper staff will be out of their establishment by January 2010.

However, the building must undergo renovations before it reopens as a library, Randolph said.

“The library board wants to make renovations to the building to make it look more like a library,” she said. “They have the funds in their budget to do exactly what they want with the design of the building.”

Randolph said she loves the idea of renovating old buildings. To her, a vacant building is something that can become an eyesore or derelict.

“We don’t want the vacant buildings attracting the wrong elements,” she said. “Renovating existing buildings means that the parish has fewer infrastructures that are empty in the parish.”