Sugarcrest Shopping Center Also Opens in Broussard

When you build Wal-Mart and Home Depot, they will come. I'm talking about all of those chain stores that sell everything from sporting goods to cookies that seem to dominate the omnipresent strip shopping centers near major retailers. Well - they're on their way to Broussard.

Sugarcrest shopping center is now open on St. Nazaire Rd., next to the Wal-Mart on Hwy. 90. So far, only two tenants are open - Dollar Tree and Hershey's Ice Cream and Cookies. There looked to be construction in one other slot, but the rest of the center is empty for now. If Broussard shoppers would like to know which stores they can expect - just head to any other neighboring Wal-Mart. They tend to attract the exact same neighbors in town after town. It's obvious that the proximity works out well for both groups.

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Broussard Plaza Tenants Open

As Broussard continues to grow into a bona-fide suburb, a new shopping center on Highway 90 at Morgan Street is ready to give new residents those city comforts. A number of tenants at Broussard Plaza are now open, or will open soon. Signs up so far include Quiznos, New Orleans Daiquiris, Edward Jones, Jagged Edge Hair Salon and Sushi Roxx.

Those names account for about half of the center's available space. When I did a story on this project when it was first announced, the developer told me he'd like to lease space for some medical offices.

It's so strange to think that just a few years ago the only retail options along Hwy. 90 between Lafayette and New Iberia were a few gas stations. That first started to change with the Albertson's-anchored center on Hwy. 182, and the area's retail stature was bumped up again when Wal-Mart and The Home Depot opened last year across the street.

The new Ambassador Caffery extension will hit Hwy. 90 just south of Wal-Mart / Albertson's, near the Zoo of Acadiana. Expect that intersection, and that entire 6 + mile stretch of roadway to eventually become one long retail corridor.

Extreme Transformation at Former Northgate Theater

I had to do a double take when I first saw the progress at the old Northgate movie theater on Moss Street. The building is being converted into a shopping center that looks like its brand-new. When I called the number on the sign for more information, I reached Affordable Home Furniture, which is a store located just a few blocks away in the old Wal-Mart building on the Evangeline Thruway.

I haven't gotten a call back, but it seems like the furniture store will be the new shopping center's first tenant. The Affordable logo is on a rendering of the development. It looks like tenants for the other slots have not yet been finalized. The view in the picture above is from Castille Ave., a row of smaller store fronts faces Moss. The Northgate Theater closed years ago.