Grants give boost to downtown Opelousas revival

Two grants have given a boost to efforts to revitalize the heart of Opelousas, one of the primary goals of St. Landry civic, government, and economic leaders.

            Bodemuller the Printer, one of the oldest family businesses in the parish, has been selected as a recipient of a $10,000 Louisiana Main Street Grant to help revamp its façade, and the City of Opelousas has received an AARP Community Challenge Grant to help enhance public spaces.

            The grants come as a reorganized Opelousas Downtown Development Authority is beginning projects to improve the infrastructure of the center of one of Louisiana’s oldest communities.

            The Bodemuller grant is one of only nine awarded this year by Louisiana Main Street, a part of the state Division of Historic Preservation. The grants are meant to help businesses attract customers as well as to improve the appearance of downtown, according to Opelousas Main Street Manager Melanie Lee-Lebouef.

            “Since the inception of the Louisiana Main Street Restoration Grant, hundreds of buildings have been saved and millions of dollars have been put back into local economies” according to a Historic Preservation publication. “The grant has proven to be the catalyst to countless restoration projects, sparking other business owners to improve their commercial buildings.”

            Bodemuller the Printer, 123 South Main Street, is owned by Ronald, Steven and Murphy Carriere Jr. The building was first used in 1935 as a Heymann’s department store. The printing business was originally opened on Bellevue Street in February 1891 by Herman Bodemuller, who died in 1937. His daughter, Lily Belle, and her husband, Herschall McLeod, hired Murphy Carriere as a printer in 1946, and he and his brother Lawrence took over the business when the McLeods retired in 1966, The Carriere family purchased the Heymann building in 1988.

            Over the years, Opelousas Main Street properties have received some $145,000 in redevelopment grant funds. The old Bodemuller building on Bellevue Street, now owned by Vera Nagy, was also a recent recipient of a redevelopment grant. Other recent grant projects include the Brass Rail and the Palace Café, both on Landry Street, and the former Fakouri Men’s Wear building on Main Street. To be eligible for a grant, a building must be within a Main Street district, be used for commercial purposes, and be at least 50 years old.

            The second grant, the AARP Community Challenge Grant is one of only 150 given nationwide and was used to purchase outdoor seating compliant with American Disabilities Act standards. It funded seating that has been placed around Le Vieux Village, the courthouse square, the Opelousas public library, and city hall. 

            The Bodemuller award was called a “great win for our city and the Carriere family,” by Opelousas mayor Julius Alsandor, who noted also that the AARP award helped “city efforts to make gathering places accessible for all people.”

            “Everything that draws attention to the potential of a renewed downtown for our parish seat is welcome and important,” according to Bill Rodier, executive director of St. Landry economic development and administrator of the downtown development authority. “Initiatives such as these reflect a commitment to our long-term goal of making the heart of our parish seat the vital place that it once was.”

Three things to know about this story:

• Bodemuller the Printer, one of the oldest family businesses in St. Landry Parish, is a recipient of a $10,000 Louisiana Main Street Grant to help revamp its façade.
• The City of Opelousas has received an AARP Community Challenge Grant to help enhance public spaces.
•  The grants come as a reorganized Opelousas Downtown Development Authority is beginning projects to improve the infrastructure in old the business district.