Acadiana Mall (French: Centre commercial de l’Acadiana) is an enclosed regional shopping mall in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana, located at the intersection of Johnston Street (U.S. Route 167) and Ambassador Caffery Parkway (Louisiana Highway 3073). It opened in 1979 and was developed by Robert B. Aikens & Associates, but is now owned by Namdar Realty Group. Currently, Acadiana Mall houses three department store anchors (Dillard's, JCPenney and Macy's). In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Acadiana Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties.[3] Sears closed in September 2017 leaving its site vacant. On June 4, 2020, it was announced that JCPenney would be closing as part of a plan to close 154 stores nationwide. However this store was removed from the closing list on July 13, 2020.[4]

Acadiana Mall
Map
LocationLafayette, Louisiana
Address5725 Johnston Street
Opening dateMarch 28, 1979 (45 years ago) (1979-03-28)
DeveloperRobert B. Aikens & Associates and Homart Development Company[1]
OwnerNamdar Realty Group
No. of stores and services101[2]
No. of anchor tenants4 (3 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area994,162 square feet (92,360.7 m2)[2]
No. of floors1 (2 in JCPenney, Macy's, and former Sears, 3 in Dillard's)
Websiteacadiana-mall.com

JCPenney built in 1990 on the site of a closed Selber Brothers,[5] while Dillard's was formerly D. H. Holmes. The Macy's store opened as Goudchaux's/Maison Blanche, and was sold to Parisian in 1998.[6] Parisian became Foley's in 2001[7][8] before converting again to Macy's in 2006.

The mall received a minor facelift in the early 1990s and a major renovation in 2004, bringing in a more contemporary look. On February 21, 2013, the mall changed its name back to Acadiana Mall.[9]

Hurricane Katrina

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In 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the mall became the assembly-point and staging area for what became known as the Cajun Navy, which was credited with rescuing thousands of flood victims.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Homart Development Report" (PDF). September 1977. p. 4. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Acadiana Mall". Namdar. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  3. ^ "At The Mall of Acadiana | Seritage". seritage.com.
  4. ^ "JC Penney at Acadiana Mall will remain open despite earlier plans to close store".
  5. ^ "NewsLibrary Search Results". nl.newsbank.com.
  6. ^ "NewsLibrary Search Results". nl.newsbank.com.
  7. ^ "NewsLibrary Search Results". nl.newsbank.com.
  8. ^ "CBL & Associates Properties Acquires Super-Regional Mall in Lafayette, Louisiana; the Mall of Acadiana Marks CBL's First Property in Louisiana. - Free Online Library". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
  9. ^ Turk, Leslie (2013-02-21). "It's 'Acadiana Mall' again!". theind.com. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  10. ^ "How citizens turned into saviors after Katrina struck". CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc. August 29, 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
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30°10′17″N 92°04′33″W / 30.171306°N 92.075708°W / 30.171306; -92.075708