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Roughly a year after purchasing 356 acres for its Mainstreet 2030 development plan, the city of Central is nearing completion on one of the project’s first major components.
Construction on the city’s new city hall, located near the intersection of Sullivan and Hooper roads, is nearly complete, with city employees expected to move in around March, according to Central Mayor Wade Evans.
Mainstreet 2030 is the city’s long-term plan to establish a centralized downtown corridor, with Sullivan Road serving as the focal point. The project is designed to create a traditional main street feel while using existing land to support flood control. Plans also include widening Sullivan Road to four lanes from Wax Road to Hooper Road. The Sullivan Road widening is expected to be completed later this spring.
Evans says the backbone of the plan is an 85-acre flood control project along Beaver Bayou, which is expected to benefit about 310 homes.
“We’re continuing to move forward on the planning for the main street corridor,” Evans says. “All in all, the project has been very smooth. Once city hall is done, you’ll start to see more traction along that corridor.”
The new city hall carries a construction cost of about $6.8 million, with roughly $3 million funded through the state’s capital outlay program, Evans says.
Another major component of Mainstreet 2030 is a proposed open-air, multiuse arena and a separate indoor facility capable of hosting events such as equestrian competitions, graduations and large church services. Evans says former state Sen. Bodie White secured capital outlay funding four years ago for a multiuse activity center focused on equestrian events, and the city later expanded the concept. Architecture firm Grace Design Studios has been hired for the project.
The two arenas would anchor a 40-acre entertainment complex along Hooper Road. Evans estimates the full arena project would cost about $60 million, with construction planned in phases. The open-air arena would be built first, followed by the indoor facility. Evans adds that they are still working on funding options for the arenas.
“The thought process behind the arena is we’re a rural community. Let’s do it so that we can have equestrian events and horse shows and rodeos, but also be multiuse,” Evans says. “Every day, it’s got something going on that has people coming to our city.”
Evans says the entertainment complex was also inspired by a regional gap in midsized venues.
He says promoters often bypass the area, moving directly from New Orleans to Lafayette because there are few arenas seating 4,000 to 5,000 people.
“It’s good for the parish. It’s good for the state,” Evans says. “The catalyst behind the thought process was how do we intercept these intermediate acts from New Orleans to Lafayette? We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to build it.”
