Revamp of Delcambre stalls

• By PATRICK COURREGES
• Published: Jul 5, 2008 - Page: 1B -- Acadiana Edition - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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DELCAMBRE -- The mayor of the Hurricane Rita-lashed town of Delcambre says that he still has hopes for some of the lofty redevelopment plans for the community, but does not know how long the wait will be until those ideas become reality.

Mayor Carol Broussard said the key need in remaking Delcambre’s waterfront is money, and while some funding has come through, it still falls far short of what would be needed to follow through on the proposals that have been forwarded.

Rita in 2005 blasted the town with an estimated 10-foot swell of water, and the community of about 2,200 is still trying to recover its full population.

The town lies across the border of two parishes: Iberia and Vermilion.

In 2006, Delcambre was part of a project funded by the Louisiana Recovery Authority that brought in a team led by a nationally known urban planner, Andres Duany, to lay out future possibilities for recovery and growth.

The upshot of the work Duany’s team did for Delcambre was a recommendation that the port area along the Delcambre canal develop into a more upscale harbor with a farmer’s market and festival building complex to make it more appealing to developers and businesses.

More than two years later, Broussard said he and other area leaders still work to achieve some of the goals set, but have not yet passed what he sees as the first hurdle.

“Right now, we’re in the process of relocating the boat ramp for that purpose,” he said, referring to the public boat ramp on the canal.
Broussard said the ramp does not allow enough parking in its current location, and would be a better tool for development if it were moved.

He said that is the key to making the balance of the plans for redevelopment possible.

“I’m sure I won’t be around,” Broussard said of the possible timeline on remaking the waterfront. “If it ever happens, that’s going to be the first step, the boat ramp.”

Broussard said the estimated cost of that move is about $4 million.

He said that, through working with the Abbeville-based Twin Parish Port Commission, Delcambre has received $2.2 million to help fund the overall waterfront project.

Iberia Parish’s government has also kicked in about $600,000.