Lafayette purchases property on Sixth Street, will be developed with Lafayette Theatre
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Lafayette Redevelopment Commission passed a resolution on Thursday approving the city's purchase of a portion of the southeast corner of Sixth and Main streets for $625,000.
This comes after the city recently announced it has planned renovations for the Lafayette Theater, located across the street at 600 Main St. The city intends to make the theater a permanent home for the Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette beginning in late 2026 or early 2027.
Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said when the opportunity to purchase the southeast corner of Sixth Street came about, the city was ready to jump on it.
"Almost 20 years ago, there was an original arts plan that talked about that corner and how that corner could help facilitate the arts and entertainment downtown," Roswarski said. "That's before the city even owned the Lafayette Theatre, so we've been talking about it for quite some time."
What brought that original plan back to the forefront, Roswarski said, was the closure of The G.O.A.T. Pub, formerly in 601 Main St.
"Things did not go well with The G.O.A.T. inside that location, and that was becoming detrimental to some of our future plans," Roswarski said. "So when they left, we thought we would take the opportunity to try to purchase it."
The long-term vision, Roswarski explained, will be to turn those two spaces into an attachment of the Long Center that would also be usable for the Lafayette Theatre. Concrete plans are not firm, he said, but the spaces could be used to host dinners for a true dinner theatre experience, the installation of additional dressing rooms, or simply an additional event venue.
Economic Development Director Dennis Carson said the city will honor the existing leases with current tenants, including The Vegan Cheese Lady located at 605 Main St. and Scissors 'N the City located at 123 N. Sixth St., noting that current tenants could break their lease at any time and would not be penalized.
While business tenants are occupying the current spaces, Carson said the city will provide any and all maintenance as needed.
Though the purchase of the property has now been approved, Roswaski said the city's priority is currently getting the renovations to the Lafayette Theatre completed, which they are currently working with the Civic Theatre and a theatre consultant to do.
If things go smoothly, Roswarski said he believes design plans for the Lafayette Theatre will be ready by the end of 2024 with construction completed in 2026. Completed renovations on the 601 and 605 Main street locations, Roswarski said, would likely be between five to six years out from becoming reality.
"I think 10 years from now, people are going to be amazed at what that corner looks like and what all is happening there as far as various types of entertainment for the community," Roswarski said.
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached by email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette Redevelopment Commission approves Sixth Street property buy