Plans for the Acadiana Mall nearly 50 years ago were so big that a national retailer got involved in the construction and it would include a major hotel, office buildings, restaurants and banks.

It was heralded as the largest mall between Houston and Baton Rouge and, at 1.2 million square feet, was double the size of the Northgate Mall, Lafayette’s first shopping mall.

Developers announced the project to much fanfare in March 1977 and announced it would take two years the massive project near the corner of what was then known as New Flanders Road (now Ambassador Caffery Parkway) and U.S. 167.

Among those behind the project, reports indicated, were developer Robert B. Aikens of Michigan, William A. Tombs with Homart Development Co. (the construction arm for Sears) and local land owners Dwight Andrus Sr., Dwight Andrus Jr. and J.Y. Foreman.

“We shall keep retail dollars here in Lafayette from being spent elsewhere,” said Aikens, whose company developed, owned and managed enclosed shopping malls across the country, his obituary indicated. “We shall draw retail dollars from surrounding areas, including Baton Rouge.”

The initial plans included moving Sears from its previous site near downtown (it was later bought by the city of Lafayette) along with a Selber Bros. department store (later acquired by Dillard’s) and two other anchors that came along later.

Plans also called for a children’s theater with a resident marionette company, an art gallery and a multi-level central park.

Construction seemed to have stayed on schedule. On March 28, 1979, festivities ushered in the new era of retail in Lafayette when the Acadiana Mall opened. Flora Tucker, identified in the newspaper at “Mrs. Richard ‘Flora’ Tucker,” cut the ribbon for the project.

The mall has undergone updates over the years, including a major facelift in the early 2000s when it was renamed the Mall of Acadiana. CB&L Associates of Tennessee later bought the mall, which was renamed to its original Acadiana Mall.

Sears left its anchor spot in 2017. It will soon be converted into a self-storage facility. 

Namdar Realty Group of New York bought the mall in early 2019. Starting in the year prior to the sale, several national retailers have closed their stores in the mall. Many spaces have been replaced by local merchants or franchised national chains, including the Rhea Lana store, which specializes in children’s consignment clothing, and LV1 Gaming.

Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@theadvocate.com.

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