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St. Landry Parish, Louisiana…..The official Ground breaking for the St. Landry Parish Visitor Information Center will take place on Tuesday, February 9th at 3:30PM.  The new Visitor Center will be located at 978 Kennerson Road, just north of Opelousas at Exit 23 at the intersection of Interstate 49 and US Hwy 167.  The goal of establishing a visitor information center that would be representative of all that visitors and locals could experience within St. Landry Parish, while also being strategically located and easily accessible, has been a long standing one of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission, who will own and operate the Center. 

For almost ten years the Parish Tourist Commission has nurtured the idea of creating a venue that would not only be a resource for visitors, but also a unique and educational attraction on its own.  It has been a long and thoughtful process and the end result will be one of the first visitor information centers in the State that will have a focus on sustainability and green construction.  “This project is an affirmation of how far the travel and tourism industry in St. Landry Parish has come,” reflected Celeste Gomez, Director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission.  “We have identified that visitors come to St. Landry Parish to experience our traditional way of life – the ways that come naturally to us – our friendliness, our food, our music, our culture.  This venue will allow us to better serve our visitors in telling our story and to ensure that they explore and experience all that St. Landry Parish has to offer.”

Once the property was made available through a joint use agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Commission, the search for an architect began.  Following a series of interviews with area firms, four were chosen to submit conceptual drawings that reflected the vision of the Commission.  The efforts of the joint venture between the firms of Ashe Broussard Weinzettle Architects of Alexandria, LA and EnvironMental Design of Breaux Bridge, LA, along with Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects, lead them to ultimately being selected for the project.  The design submitted by the winning firms incorporated numerous sustainable design features, highlighting many practices that are traditionally found here in south Louisiana, but may not be recognized as being “green”. 

Starting with the orientation of the building on the site, which will maximize the daylight from the north and deep overhangs on the south to reduce heat gain and result in conservation of energy; wind analysis has also influenced the buildings position as to capture the prevailing breezes from the south/southeast which will provide natural ventilation and potential on site wind generation;  the use of a hipped roof which is known for withstanding high winds as opposed to gable rooflines; a cistern into which rain water will be collected from the roof; the use of reclaimed materials such as bricks and long leaf pine flooring.  Newer products and environmentally friendly practices such as photovoltaic panels which will capture solar energy, a functioning wind turbine and the use of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood will be utilized as well. The outdoor exhibit area and boardwalk will feature four kiosks that will house interpretive panels that will explain the practices used within the project. 

The landscape design will play an integral part in this project.  “Interestingly, and perhaps most fortuitously of all (from an ecotourism perspective), is the geographical location of the site; for it sits at the juncture of six of Louisiana’s seven major ecosystem types.  This site can function as a major “gateway” grade facility for both locals and travelers who are interested in the ecology as well as the culture of the region.” said Bill Fontenot, Louisiana Naturalist.  And it will be through the use of indigenous plantings and trees that the six ecosystems found in St. Landry Parish will be reflected.

The new 4,600 square foot center will house an exhibition and display area for tourist information materials for the Parish, region and State, a meeting area, public restrooms and the administrative offices for the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission.   The construction bid was awarded to Ratcliff Construction Company, LLC and is projected to take twelve months for completion.

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Contact:
Celeste D. Gomez, Director, St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission
337.948.8004; stlandry@cajuntravel.com