Loreauville officials are excited to usher in a new chapter for the village as plans for a brand new town hall are underway and expected to begin in the near future.

Mayor Brad Clifton said the project started to materialize during last year’s legislative session, and with the help of Rep. Beau Beaullieu, Sen. Blake Miguez and Sen. Brett Allain who helped provide state funding for the estimated $1.5 million initiative.

“When this opportunity was brought up, we went for it,” Clifton said. “They were all confident that we would be able to get the funds and we did.”

The new town hall will be installed at the same location as the current one on Main Street. Clifton said the design of the two-story building will be in the Acadian style, similar to Shadows-on-the-Teche in New Iberia.

The building will include a mayor’s office and conference room on the second floor and the alderman’s chambers on the first floor. An office for the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s deputy designated for Loreauville will also be in the plans.

Architect for the project David Allain said the design “seamlessly blends the historic vernacular architecture of the region with modern technologies and systems.” The unique design of the building is “rooted in the past yet poised for the future” and will offer state-of-the-art facilities.”

With the location of the building next to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Clifton said the design will enhance the “south Louisiana feel” of Loreauville in the same way that the church does.

Bidding for the project is expected to start within the next few months, and Loreauville’s administrative team will be working at the old fire house while construction is ongoing.

Most importantly, the new building comes with the recent completion of the Acadian Odyssey Monument which was installed in Loreauville last year.

The monument was a cultural win for Loreauville as it marks the village on the official map of the Acadian diaspora and is likely to greatly increase the amount of visitors the village receives in the next few years.

“We’re going to be inviting a lot of people around the world to Loreauville in the next few years,” Clifton said. “The town hall is the first thing people walk into, you’re basically inviting them to your home so we’re really excited for that. We want to add an aesthetic to Main Street that we can be proud of and start a new chapter for Loreauville.”