More shops, restaurants and foot traffic? Board will work to bring them to downtown Houma

Kevin Champagne of Houma said he wants to see downtown have more local businesses and more foot traffic and be a place where people gather.

Now he's got a chance to help make those goals a reality.

Champagne was appointed by the Terrebonne Parish Council to a new board whose mission is to revitalize downtown.

"The whole purpose of the board is for historic preservation and economic development, and those are two things that are important to me," said Champagne, 56, head of MacDonnell Children's Services, which provides shelter and other programs for youths from troubled homes. "I'm on the chamber, I'm part of the Rotary Club and just invested in the community. I grew up here and I want to make sure we leave something for my children and the community."

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The nine-member board was created by the state Legislature earlier this year, the result of a bill introduced by Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma. The board has a starting budget of about $1 million and the authority to buy, repair and sell property and buildings downtown.

Champagne said he volunteered to be a member because he lives on the east side of Houma and wants to ensure that part of town is represented. He said he remembers, years back, getting Cub Scout uniforms from Dupont's department store and picking out clothes at Earl Williams' shop.

Champagne said he is eager to learn more about a potential deal between the state and Terrebonne Parish to swap Main Street for another road. The goal, officials have said, is to make Main Street one lane between Polk Street and Grand Caillou Road. Across Bayou Terrebonne, the same stretch of Park Avenue would also convert to one lane. The twin spans would remain the same — two lanes on each bridge.

Business owners have long cited the large volume of traffic along Main Street, a state highway, as dissuading shoppers and patrons.

Champagne said he wants to see the findings of a traffic study now underway that will help guide the process.

"How can we make it better, and how can we bring more businesses back downtown?" he said.

Magee said every community needs a vibrant downtown, which is the goal of House Bill 780.

"I'm not slouching on what we currently have — I mean, Ida took a toll, but it probably wasn't all that great before, so I think we need to get it going again," Magee said. "That's kind of the dream here, to have a vibrant downtown with lots of buildings, lots of diversity and kind of the people who work and live down here."

Hurricane Ida destroyed some buildings and left others vacant or unusable. Magee said the board has broad powers to fix these issues however it decides but still has to seek permits from the parish. The concept was modeled off similar boards formed in other areas after Hurricane Katrina.

"The idea is to get all these [derelict properties] back into private hands and back into commerce, but if there's something that's being stuck, that this entity can buy it, maybe renovate it or even do some innovative ideas like some sort of business incubator," Magee said.

The board will have authority within the Houma Restoration District, defined in the law as Main and Park avenues from Morgan Street to Grand Caillou Road.

Most of the board's members have yet to be appointed. Each will serve a six-year term. None will be paid. Members will be appointed by the council, parish president, state lawmakers representing the area, and the Chamber of Commerce.

The Houma Downtown Development Corporation and the Houma Historic Preservation District appoints two members.

Parish Councilwoman Jessica Domangue of Houma said she's excited about the board's creation.

"For us as a government, Terrebonne Parish is so big and Main Street is one little piece of that, and so the focus of government cannot always be on Main Street," she said, "It's going to bring a freshness, a new perspective, because let's be honest with ourselves, we've been trying to do the same thing over and over and over for many years and it just hasn't worked."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: New board aims to bring more shops, visitors and fun to downtown Houma