Construction on campus continues well into the Fall 2026 semester, along with relocation of departments and offices. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus known by current freshmen may look very different from that known to students who got here more than three years ago. 

To recap, at the beginning of the Fall 2023 semester, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences began their transition to the Health Sciences Campus, following a 19.2 acre property acquisition from Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center. Now, the College has fully moved into the 501 Building on the new campus for the most part, with an exception of some undergraduate nursing classes remaining in Wharton Hall. 

In December of that same semester, demolition of Cajun Field began and construction of Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium was underway, marking a new era for the University.

In Fall 2024, Madison Hall began a three-phase renovation and the College of Engineering broke ground for its new Engineering Student-Centered Collaborative Building, which will house the newly established Engineering Center of Excellence (ECoE). 

The last phase of renovations to Madison Hall was just completed this summer and opened for use at the start of this semester. According to Scott Hebert, director of Facility Management, construction of the new building is anticipated to begin between this November to January 2027, and will go on for the next one to two years. 

In Spring 2025, Our Lady of Wisdom Church and Catholic Student Center announced their move to a new home that will be built just across the street, beside Earl K. Long Gymnasium. The land where the new church is being built on was swapped between the University and the Diocese of Lafayette, now belonging to the Diocese. 

Hebert shared that the construction of the new church, under LEMOINE, has been progressing well and should be getting cleaned up within the next few months, aiming for an opening date in early Spring 2027. 

Construction of the new engineering building will begin once works at the new church are being wrapped up, according to Hebert. This is due to the closeness in proximity between the project sites of the new church and new engineering building.

Though the University is not managing the church project, Hebert said, “We’re working closely with them and following their construction sequence to make sure that, one, we don’t start our project that overlaps… and two, we can help them expedite their project… so we can get started next.”

Towards the end of Spring 2025, Foster Hall and DeClouet Hall closed completely to make way for extensive renovations and upgrades. Previously housed in Foster Hall, the Office of Financial Aid and Office of Undergraduate Admissions were temporarily relocated to the 601 Building on the Health Sciences Campus. Previously housed in DeClouet Hall, University College was also temporarily moved to the 601 Building.

Hebert said that due to unforeseen difficulties with the contractor, there have been delays in completion time for the renovations to Foster and DeClouet Halls, which are now expected to be between the summer and fall of next year.

For Dr. Bobbie DeCuir, dean of University College, the 601 Building on the Health Sciences Campus “has been a breath of fresh air for us coming from DeClouet because DeClouet was in such need of repair.”

DeCuir said that University College will benefit from the renovations improving the aesthetics of the building, becoming more welcoming and fit for hosting. “It was difficult to invite people to the building,” she said.

She shared that the TRIO program under University College’s Department of Special Services, being federally-funded, would invite members of Congress to campus. 

“DeClouet Hall was not the place where you want to bring people to… necessarily see the state of the building,” DeCuir said.

More importantly, she said that the renovations will ultimately make DeClouet Hall more accessible and comfortable for students that will utilize the building.

Acknowledging the distance from campus and that it might be an inconvenience since University College conducts advising year round, DeCuir said that they have navigated that by adopting an online-heavy approach to matters like advising. She also mentioned the availability of parking and shuttle services. 

However, DeCuir shared that being located away from the main campus has its disadvantages in terms of being away from student traffic and losing visibility. 

“Certainly, we love being in the center of the campus where students can stop in just at a whim,” DeCuir said. 

Other offices that have been relocated, not related to renovation reasons, include the Keys Office, which has been permanently moved from Parker Hall to the Central Receiving Building at 429 Cherry St. 

Another building that has had its name mentioned in the relocation of services is the Eckards Building on 1606 Johnston St. The Reflective Collective under UL Lafayette’s Student Government Association (SGA), a series of student-led discussions and peer support groups, is one of the services that moved to the Eckards Building from F.G. Mouton Hall. 

Off campus and non-university related, a construction project that students cannot help but notice is the project on West St. Mary Boulevard, between Taco Bell and Old Tyme Grocery. 

When asked if the University has information on this project, Hebert shared that it is the construction of a sewer lift station, catching drainage water from the area and bringing it towards a treatment plant. This project should be completed by Summer 2027, according to Hebert.

The Office of Facility Management is working on Master Plan 2.0 with the University’s current administration, revising it to align with the University’s goals. Hebert shared that with a change in administration and leadership comes different views and direction that they want to take. “We want to make sure that we capture that new direction in the revised master plan,” he said.

Master Plan 2.0 will take into consideration student success and the placement of departments to support that. Once refined, the master plan would help guide Facility Management in making those decisions.