What does Lafayette Parish Public Schools have planned for the old Northside Walmart?
The Lafayette Parish School System moved forward with plans to buy a large portion of the old Walmart on NW Evangeline Thruway as part of a plan to consolidate the district's food warehouse space.
The school board voted during its November meeting to shift $295,000 from an HVAC contingency fund to the warehouse consolidation fund, clearing the way for the district to move ahead with its plan to buy the 100,000-square-foot building and the nine-acre site.
LPSS is buying the portion of the store for $5 million, documents show.
The board originally considered shifting the HVAC funds during its October meeting, but the vote was tabled until November. Board member Tehmi Chassion voted to table the item again in November, saying that the property's seller — listed as J&J Commercial Real Estate — has not disclosed some information he has requested. The board voted 8-1 to move forward with the purchase.
"I know we do need this," Chassion said at the November meeting. "Apparently it's a good price...I just want to know that piece of information."
At the October meeting, Chassion said he had questions about other commercial properties that may be available and the potential of using an agent from District 4 — Chassion's district — where the building is located.
The central warehouse LPSS currently uses was part of the sale of the school board building at 113 Chaplin Drive to the Lafayette Airport Commission. The district is leasing the warehouse from LAC until it can find a suitable warehouse.
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The district has another warehouse — the Child Nutrition Warehouse on Evans Lane — but it doesn't have the capacity to fit the inventory from both facilities. LPSS identified the old Walmart as having the potential to consolidate both warehouses and still have enough room for future growth.
LPSS is planning to use money from selling the existing Child Nutrition Warehouse and funds already set aside for warehouse consolidation, along with the money transferred from the HVAC fund, to pay for the purchase and renovation of the building.
According to the agenda, the estimated cost per square foot — including the purchase and renovation of the nine-acre property — is less than $100 per square foot. LPSS estimated the cost of building a similar facility would be around $300 per square foot.
Walmart closed its doors in 2019, but drop shipping fulfillment company Completeful announced in May 2021 that it would be purchasing the building to house its operations. At the time of the announcement, the company also indicated it would look to fill unused parts of the building with other tenants.
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According to site plans, LPSS is planning to use 27,000 square feet for the central warehouse and 19,000 square feet for the child nutrition warehouse. The plans also include a 10,000-square-foot freezer, a 9,300-square-foot conference center, office space, a print shop and a media center.
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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: What does LPSS have planned for the old Northside Walmart?
