Abbeville, LA

The City of Abbeville, Louisiana requested assistance with the possible reuse of 2 properties – a 13-acre former Rice Mill site and the City Hall (former Audrey Hotel).  KSU TAB and TAB Partner Development Research Partners, Inc., in coordination with personnel from the Acadiana Planning Commission and the LDEQ Brownfield Program:

• educated City officials on the need for a Phase I assessment prior to accepting the former Rice Mill property via donation,
• conducted four meetings of community focus groups (in the areas of Real Estate and Finance; Downtown Stakeholders; Business & Economic Development; Arts, Community, and Culture) to inform redevelopment and transactional strategies and initiate productive conversations regarding brownfield reuse, and 
• led a community engagement meeting at which 85 Abbeville residents generated ideas for higher use of the City Hall, at 101 N. State St.