The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors this week will review a plan to renovate part of the former Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital property for use by the UL Lafayette’s nursing program in the fall semester.
An agenda released last week for Thursday’s meet at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston said the supervisors would consider a lease with Ragin’ Cajun Facilities for a portion of the building — some 21,000 square feet — at 501 W. St. Mary Blvd. An executive summary suggested the space would be renovated prior to the fall semester at a cost of $600,000 to $800,000. That renovation would be completed in August, according to the summary.
The property is a portion of a tract of almost 6 acres — land and buildings — sold to the university by the Diocese of Lafayette. The sale will enable UL Lafayette to use the former hospital site property for use as a health sciences campus, to be located near the intersection of St. Mary and St. Landry streets. It would also go a long way toward helping UL Lafayette close the land gap between its north and south campuses.
UL Lafayette President E. Joseph Savoie has said the new nursing building will be built near the intersection at a cost of about $65 million. The Louisiana Legislature has partially funded the project with an allocation of $15 million; some funds also will come from a $20 million gift from the LCH Group, the largest ever to the university. The LHC Group Myers School of Nursing enrolls 2,100 students in its bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs.
The site was first used as a hospital in 1949, when OLOL opened with 50 beds. Additional growth at the site grew the patient capacity to more than 250 beds. OLOL opened a new hospital on Ambassador Caffery Parkway in 2011.
The board will also review a request by UL Lafayette to lease part of a building at 406 Dunreath St., on the same former hospital site, to OLOL. The hospital will continue to house an outpatient rehabilitation center at the site for up to two years, until a new site can be secured for the center. The space will be rented for $7,601 per month.
In other agenda items, the supervisors will review four “naming” opportunities on the UL Lafayette campus, designated to honor donors to the university. They are:
• The SCP Health Collaboration Arena. Named for Schumacher Clinical Partners, which donated furniture to Louisiana Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at the LITE Center. The philanthropic naming will be for four years.
• The J. Arthur Roy House outdoor garden area, honoring Betty Angers Fleming. The New Iberia native and UL Lafayette graduate was a lifelong supporter of the arts and humanities; first president of the Friends of the Humanities; and supported initiatives within the College of Liberal Arts and the College of the Arts at UL Lafayette. The philanthropic naming will be for the life of the outdoor space.
• The President’s parking lot at Cajun Field will be called “Gulf Coast Bank President’s Parking Lot.” Gulf Coast Bank is a longtime supporter of UL Lafayette and a donor since 1995, contributing in support of the University and Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics. The philanthropic naming is for 10 years.
• The Earl K. Long Gymnasium upstairs lounge, to be named the “Cliff and Aimee Guidry Family Lounge.” Clifton and Aimee Guidry’s gifts-in-kind are intended to support current and future UL Lafayette volleyball teams. The Guidry Family wanted to improve the E.K. Long Gym environment to ensure fans, coaches and players enjoy a newly renovated and modern space. In recognition of their gift, the philanthropic naming is for the useful life of the facility.
