Acadiana Business May 15 - June 16, 2013 : Page 1
Daigle, Picard join Committee of 100 P. 5 May 15 -June 16, 2013 News & Analysis on Commerce in South Louisiana Fenstermaker promotes Glenn McCall to engineering leader P. 25 www.acadianabusiness.com INSIDE Mais Oui ....................... 3 Turk File ....................... 4 State of the Economy .. 11 Legal Matters .............. 17 Business News ........... 18 Commercial Progress Report .......... 24 People ........................ 25 ABiz Scene ................. 27 Inforum ....................... 30 Fresh Catch TURNING A G iven nearly a week to mull a pro-posed development in their historic, leafy neighborhood, Girard Park resi-dents remain optimistic that a deal to end years of legal acrimony with neighbor Jim Davidson is at hand. On May 1 the neighbors were given a PowerPoint presentation on the plan for an apartment complex on attorney Davidson’s 4.1-acre tract at the Girard Park Drive/ Hospital Drive intersection that will benefit the expansion needs of adjacent Lafayette General Medical Center. Architectural ren-derings show a two-phase development on the property that includes a 135-slot parking Lafayette now has inroads to state money for seafood promotions and marketing. By Jeremy Alford CORNER H The Andrus family’s plan for a physician apartment complex is being favorably received by residents who have waged a long legal battle to keep their neighborhood just that — a neighborhood. By Walter Pierce lot in the rear that will only be accessible via Hospital Drive (hence virtually invisible from the neighborhood) as well as the apart-ment complex comprising two four-story buildings (parking for the complex will be beneath the buildings on the ground level). The complex would be leased by LGMC and used for physicians completing their residencies. A week after that May 1 presentation the neighbors met with their attorney, Gary McGoffin, who says it “was a very produc-tive meeting with very good turnout.” The land is under contract for purchase SEE CORNER ON PG. 22 Bottling Louisiana Sweet Crude P. 18 enderson Mayor Sherbin Collette and Lafayette seafood entrepreneur Frank Randol are coming into their new state positions just in time for a giant crawfish-shaped birthday cake. An appropriate, and possibly symbolic, treat for the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, to which both were appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal in March. With a born-on date of 1984, the board celebrates its 30th anniversary next year. And what does the board get for that special milestone? More influ-ence from southwest Louisiana, for one. The owner of Collette’s Seafood in St. Martin Parish, Collette will serve as a representa-tive for the wild catfish industry. Randol, a seafood processor and owner of Randol’s Restaurant, will be repping the crawfish industry. Their challenge is to crack through the special treatment traditionally SEE CATCH ON PG. 19 Ruffi no’s closes on Cochon building for $3.3M P. 5 PXP creating 600 jobs averaging 100k Lafayette native Jim Flores brings it home with $20 million deepwater facility in Broussard. By Leslie Turk t’s the kind of project economic developers live for: Plains Exploration & Production Company is building an approximately $20 million deepwater facility in the Lafayette Economic Development Authority’s industrial park on Bernard Road in Broussard, creat-ing 600 jobs with an average salary of $100,000 over a five-year period. ABiz broke the story on the project the morning of May 9, with LEDA chief Gregg Gothreaux sharing the details later that afternoon to a packed room in the Cajundome Convention Center. Speaking at his second annual State of the Economy luncheon, Gothreaux revealed that over the next five years, the independent oil and gas producer’s expanded Gulf of Mexico operations will create hundreds of direct and contract positions. Commonly referred to as PXP and headed by Lafayette native Jim Flores since 2002, the Houston-based publicly traded company employs approximately 220 people in Lafayette and the surrounding communities, Gothreaux said. The company’s Lafayette offices are located in Park Tower at 400 Kaliste Saloom Road, and what many people don’t know, Gothreaux noted, is that PXP’s local workforce has been growing since its acquisition of deepwater assets in the Gulf of Mexico late last year. “They’ve already hired, quietly out on Bernard Road, 180 AROUND TOWN Is Downtown’s Parkview Towers back on track? P. 7 I Jim Flores Coming Full Circle Save the Horse Farm’s EB Brooks assumes key role in park development P. 4 www.acadianabusiness.com SEE PXP ON PG. 21 WHERE THE RACK IS NEVER EMPTY
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