Lafayette: ‘creative, diverse and eclectic’

The downtown signage states that Lafayette is “Creative, Diverse and Eclectic.” We have always been a community that has worked hard to become the Lafayette you see today. We are not blessed with a traditional downtown but an eclectic mix of houses and businesses when Public Road was U.S. Highway 287. Through the years the cooperative efforts of the city, Chamber, Lafayette Urban Renewal Authority and Cultural Resources, have resulted in Lafayette becoming a destination with new restaurants and businesses along Public Road, permanent and rotating public art displays and successful events such as Oatmeal Fest, Peach Fest, Brew Fest and Art Nights Out.

That’s just one piece of the puzzle that is at the forefront of the many exciting things happening in Lafayette.  Two very visible projects on Public Road are the City Center Project and the rehab of the old La Familia building.

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What was once old becomes new again with reconstruction of La Familia and the new-old Highway Café at 201 N. Public Road. The building will feature a 1,737-square-foot restaurant, 933-square-foot rooftop patio and 1,688-square-foot gallery and museum. This project, which will anchor the north end of downtown with a welcoming gateway to Lafayette, has been put on hold after the discovery of a Coca-Cola-inspired mural on the side of the building when renovation began. Believed to be from the 1950s, this incredible art find will be carefully dismantled, restored and reconstructed in the new Highway Café.

The City Center Project is a mixed-use building complex located on 10 acres north of City Hall.  The plan is to create a project with 90 percent residential and 10 percent commercial, which will include approximately 200 multi-family units and 16,640 square feet of commercial space. This infill project ties together the long stretch of Public Road from Baseline to South Boulder roads, providing access to employment centers, downtown shopping and dining, and transit routes.

Simpson Street, once Lafayette’s original main street and business district, has languished for years with a few small businesses and a mix of residential units, but it is now becoming another vibrant center for Lafayette. Odd13 Brewing made the leap of faith when it opened Lafayette’s first brewpub in a dilapidated building and created the spark that ignited revitalization on Simpson Street. The adaptive reuse of Lafayette Commons at 400 E. Simpson St. has created new life in a once-empty building. The City and LURA worked with the owner to reconstruct the historic façade, which now is the site of 22 offices.  A new coffee shop, art gallery, photography studio and a new residential development – Simpson Old Town – now are making Simpson Street, along with Public Road, creative, diverse and eclectic.

While projects seem to be popping up everywhere, some have been in the works for several years and now are coming to fruition, while others are new and the result of companies from other areas making the decision to locate to Lafayette. Facilities such as PowerBack Rehabilitation, next to Good Samaritan Medical Center; Meridian, a memory-care/assisted-living facility on Highway 287; TruCare, an adult day-care facility and another assisted-living facility planned near the hospital, will give residents more options as they move into the next phases of their lives.

As Lafayette moves forward, future developments will be aided by the new “North Metro Enterprise Zone,” which will provide investment tax, job training and vacant building rehabilitation tax credits. This will give Lafayette the opportunity to encourage revitalization in our existing business parks.

Lafayette once was considered just a wide spot on Highway 287, but through many years of hard work, careful planning and visionary thinking we are becoming the full-service, successful community we always knew we could be.

The Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and the city of Lafayette have worked diligently to create events that draw thousands of people to Lafayette each year. With our four successful breweries, new restaurants and businesses opening, and infill housing projects, we are becoming known in the region as “the” place to be.

Vicki Trumbo is executive director of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.