A groundbreaking ceremony was held today, Tuesday, October 13th, for the new $5.9 million Small Business Success Center planned for the historic Holy Rosary campus at the corner of Louisiana Avenue & Carmel Drive in North Lafayette, Louisiana.
The new 8,600-square-foot facility, a project by the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA), will include offices for LEDA’s small business team, training rooms, and private offices for one-on-one business counseling.
Services at the center will include help with business plans, financial literacy, consulting, and training. The center will also help connect business owners with potential funding sources. It will serve a broad range of businesses, including small businesses, sole proprietors, and those operating side businesses & gig work.
upLFT Capital Access, also known as the Lafayette Community Development Fund, is one of the center’s planned anchor tenants. The organization is working to become a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which would allow it to expand financing opportunities for smaller businesses that may struggle to qualify for traditional bank loans.
The facility is also expected to incorporate youth entrepreneurship programming, expanding on LEDA’s existing summer entrepreneurship boot camps.
“Entrepreneurship is a valid pathway to economic stability,” said Mandi Mitchell, President & CEO of LEDA, when speaking on the importance of introducing young people to business ownership as another potential career path.
The Small Business Success Center project is part of the redevelopment of the roughly 40-acre Holy Rosary campus, which dates back to 1913. The Holy Rosary Institute is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the few remaining historic Black Catholic high school buildings in the country. Originally established to provide vocational and technical education, the institute served African American students throughout the region before closing in 1993. The Small Business Success Center is the first major new construction project to break ground on the property as part of its redevelopment.
“Holy Rosary’s legacy is rooted in education, service and a belief in the potential of every person,” said Sister Alicia Costa, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of the Holy Family
Additional campus developments include the Norman C. Francis Public Library, a new state-of-the-art Head Start facility, and improved pedestrian connectivity.
See more about the new Northside library coming soon: https://developinglafayette.com/wp/new-northeast-regional-library-planned-for-north-lafayette-conceptual-designs/
“We are building assets in our own community and meeting this community where it is,” said Dustin Cravins, president of the Holy Rosary Redevelopment Board.
Funding for the $5.9 million project comes from LEDA and state funding secured with help from State Senator Gerald Boudreaux over several legislative sessions.
“This is the most transformative project that we will have in this community for a long time,” said Senator Boudreaux during the ceremony.
Construction is expected to begin in December 2026 or January 2027 and should take about 12 months to complete, putting the estimated completion around late 2027 or early 2028.
