Downtown Opelousas restaurant gets redevelopment funds
An Opelousas downtown restaurant, lounge and events center located at a historic corner of the central business district has been awarded a $6,400 redevelopment incentive grant through the Louisiana Main Street program.
According to a press release, the grant enables Arpeggio’s, which reopened at 202 N. Main St. in 2017, to use matching funds for exterior and interior improvements for the building, which once served during the 20th century as a general store, a liquor store and a bar.
Arpeggio’s sits on property once occupied by the Union Hotel from 1822 until 1894. The popular hotel at both corners of Main and North streets was also an entertainment venue until it and other nearby buildings were destroyed by a fire, according to a City of Opelousas website.
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Arpeggio’s current owners, Thurman Johnson and Dr. Carmen Johnson, plan to use the grant funding to rehabilitate exterior doors and paint the exterior and interiors of the one-story building which serves breakfasts and lunches in addition to hosting special events, the press release says.
In December, the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development Division of Historic Preservation, awarded 11 communities — including Opelousas — $92,000 for 2021-22 grant funding through the Louisiana Main Street program, according to a state press release issued last month.
Restoration grants liked the one awarded to Arpeggio’s must be used for exterior and interior preservation of historic commercial buildings, the city’s press release states.
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Commercial buildings that are at least 50 years old and located within a municipality’s approved historic district, are eligible to receive redevelopment grants, the press release said.
Since the city began participating as part of the Louisiana Main Street program, Opelousas downtown businesses have received approximately $150,000 in redevelopment grants, said the press release.
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This article originally appeared on Opelousas Daily World: Downtown Opelousas restaurant Arpeggio’s gets redevelopment funds
