What the Marketplace Will Bear

A two-year lease with the Lafayette Public Library reserved the sale of the Jefferson Street Market. When Rob and Catherine Robison shuttered Jefferson Street Market 9 months earlier after 15 years of anchoring a big and delightful storefront, a cumulative shiver of worry went through other downtown service owners. Jefferson Street Market, with its eclectic collection of antiques, vintage clothes, contemporary art and presents, drew customers from all over the area. It was a great place for the residents of Lafayette's upscale south side to rub elbows with the art and music crowd. The market housed a big gallery and anchored monthly events like ArtWalk. The Robisons were constant strong voices as part of the governing body that manages the development of downtown. Was a 25-year-long effort of renewing the heart of old Lafayette heading south with the economy? A two-year lease with the Lafayette Public Library booked the sale of the Jefferson Street Market.

When Rob and Catherine Robison shuttered Jefferson Street Market 9 months back after 15 years of anchoring a wonderful and large storefront, a collective shiver of fear ran through other downtown entrepreneur. Jefferson Street Market, with its eclectic collection of antiques, vintage clothing, modern art and gifts, drew clients from all over the region. It was a good place for the residents of Lafayette's affluent south side to rub elbows with the art and music crowd. The marketplace housed a large gallery and anchored month-to-month occasions like ArtWalk. The Robisons were continuous strong voices as part of the governing body that manages the development of downtown. Was a 25-year-long effort of rejuvenating the heart of old Lafayette heading south with the economy? The response, inked in the last days of October, is a resounding "no." The structure's brand-new owners, a newly formed business, Jefferson Street Market LLC, is largely consisted of members of The Southwest Group: Jim Poché, Philippe Prouet, Bryant Poché, Danny Nugier, Ed Krampe II, and E.J.

Krampe III. Those are the folks who lovingly brought back the Tribune Printing plant on Vermilion Street, creating area for The French Press restaurant, Philippe's Wine Cellar and Recycled Cycles. New partners Jim Keaty, Joshua Hebert and Loney Hebert have actually signed on for the Jefferson Street Market venture. Nugier, who tends to be the spokesperson for the partnership. The nearly 20,000-square-foot structure uses all sorts of redevelopment options in a historic structure, a speciality of the group. Nugier says the company envisions a combination of retail, consisting of a restaurant, webpage domestic and possibly some office. That vision will have to wait for a couple of years. The first renter, the main branch of the Lafayette Town library, will gather the keys to the structure Dec. 1. And it was the library's lease that made the purchase arrangement work. Selling at just over $1 million, it was an important deal for downtown. The Southwest Group's mission is securely concentrated on the area between Johnston, University, Congress and Evangeline Thruway.

It is understood for preservation of significant buildings and, just as crucial, discovering excellent renter matches for those spaces. Robison, with a laugh - but he's not truly joking. While the property has actually remained in Catherine Dauterive Robison's household for nearly a century, the structure isn't old adequate to land on the historical register. Though originally Dauterive's Furniture, it is most typically recalled as a five and penny called McCrory's. The building burned to the ground before being rebuilt in the 1960s. When Rob and Catherine relocated to town from Charleston, S.C., her mother offered Rob the trip of the household building. He had actually lived through a revitalization of an old downtown in Charleston, and knew, with the opening of Streetscape, that Lafayette's downtown held guarantee. The brick-lined walkways opened the exact same year, 1996, that the Robisons resumed the structure as Jefferson Street Market. The library's lease extends for a bit more than 2 years. The primary branch on Congress Street will be undergoing remodelling, and real estate the library on Jefferson Street keeps the function of the library downtown. The doors will be open to the general public as typical, providing access to books, computers, papers and motion pictures. Nugier states that two-year period will offer his business time to plan, style and forge relationships with renters.

When Rob and Catherine Robison shuttered Jefferson Street Market nine months ago after 15 years of anchoring a big and delightful storefront, a cumulative shiver of worry ran through other downtown service owners. Jefferson Street Market, with its eclectic collection of antiques, classic clothing, modern art and gifts, drew consumers from all over the region. When Rob and Catherine Robison shuttered Jefferson Street Market nine months ago after 15 years of anchoring a wonderful and large store, a collective shiver of fear ran through other downtown business owners. Jefferson Street Market, with its diverse collection of antiques, classic clothing, contemporary art and gifts, drew clients from all over the area. The brick-lined sidewalks opened the same year, 1996, that the Robisons reopened the building as Jefferson Street Market.