Downtown Houma Revitalization on the Horizon

Downtown Houma is a historic staple that is the heartbeat of the area. Lately, the momentum for restoring the area and bringing it back to life has been at the forefront of everyone’s mind, and some major changes are coming soon!

When it comes to downtown, Terrebonne Parish Planning & Zoning Director Chris Pulaski said many exciting things are coming up in the area. Rewinding to November 2012, the Houma-Terrebonne Regional Planning Commission adopted The Comprehensive Master Plan Vision 2030 which was later accepted by the Parish Council in February 2013. The 292-page plan provides a framework for the substantial growth, development, and protection of Terrebonne Parish. According to the plan, the main goals include:

• Sense of Place and Connectedness
• Safe and Efficient Transportation System
• Efficient and Attractively Varied Land Uses
• A Sustainable Community through Avoidance of Hazards, Nuisances, and Environmental Degradation
• High-Quality Infill Projects and Redevelopment throughout the Parish
• Effective Public Services and Facilities

Click here to view the full plan

Chapter nine of the plan focuses entirely on Downtown Houma, the historic center. One of the objectives of the plan was to close the block of Belanger Street to make it a pedestrian plaza, which will be a reality with the Rotary Centennial Plaza set for completion in Spring 2023.

In December 2019, downtown was the site of Demonstration Day where a lane was closed off and experiments were conducted such as changing parking directions and closing off the Belanger Street area that’s lined by local businesses, and more. Pulaski said they were documenting the whole time what people liked and disliked about the experimented changes. This led to a discussion about how the downtown area could be improved. The momentum began after Demonstration Day, however, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to it. Hurricane Ida put even more strains on the plans.

Although full Hurricane Ida recovery is years away, the area is moving forward with rebuilding, and that includes downtown. They are currently repairing the Bayou Walk that lines Bayou Terrebonne. The walk has seen difficulties with sinkholes due to the subsurface washing out, but the repairs are currently underway and will soon shift to the block between Roussell and Barrow Streets. Another big project is the near completion of the revitalization of Le Petit Theatre De Terrebonne, “I think once people see these things happening, then I think the private sector is going to look at downtown and be like, hey, maybe this is where we want to be,” Pulaski said.  

The parish has many visions for the downtown area. Before COVID, the parish initiated discussions with ParkMobile and currently is in contract to slowly phase into eliminating the area’s parking meters. Patrons may start noticing stickers on the meters for a choice of inserting a quarter or using the ParkMobile phone app to pay for parking. The app charges the same amount per hour, 25 cents, however, it will cost more to use simply because the app charges service and convenience fees. Eventually, you will start seeing parking kiosks on downtown corners that once set, the old-school parking meters can be taken out, Pulaski explained. “We are going through an update for the whole Main Street corridor,” he said. One thing that will help revitalization is recent legislation that established a Houma Restoration District. 

Pulaski explained that the restoration district makes it easier for the area to receive funds to help with historic preservation. The district comes with a million dollars worth of seed money and can only be spent on the district, which is businesses that line Main Street and Park Avenue, currently, from Morgan St. to the Grand Caillou Bridge. The money can be used to purchase property, for redevelopment, and to incentivize redevelopment, “The big reason for having the masterplan is so that all of the groups, the parish, restoration district, HDDC, TEDA, Non-profits, etc….are all in the agreement how Main Street will be developed over the next ten to 20 years,” Pulaski explained, “Everybody has their role to play, we all want to go in the same direction, we all want to work together to get to the same destination.”

There are many moving pieces to one project, let alone an entire area that needs restoration, and Pulaski said it’s difficult to put that message out. For example, the Rotary Centennial Plaza received zero bids when the project first went out to bid. They had to do a second round of bids, which each round is 30 days. Then, when they do accept a bid, it’s another 30 to 40 days of contracts and approvals. So, despite not having any opposition to the project, it has taken years to get to construction. “Now more than ever, we have a group of people, a community who really wants to see change, and we’ve got potentially a huge block of funding coming our way for that change,” Pulaski said.

If someone wants to redevelop the property in the downtown area, it will take private investors and certain guidelines need to be followed. The parish has guidelines in its design ordinances that are similar to the guidelines in the new legislation that established the restoration district. The guidelines state that historic architecture must be preserved, “It doesn’t mean they have to preserve it like you can’t tear the building down,” Pulaski explained, “You can preserve certain aspects such as bricks, or you could build something brand new that harkens back to what it was before.” Just like everything else, if you intend to apply for any of the programs or tax incentives, it’s a process. The first thing that would happen, Pulaski explained, is the state would be contacted, then you would pick a period of time when the building looked a certain way, and you would have to make the building commemorate that look. Any building over 50 years old is considered historic in the downtown area.

Another upcoming project for the downtown area comes with a partnership with Live Healthy Houma. The parish has done a walking assessment and the data was submitted to consulting groups. The fitness projects will be on the east side of the Twin Span where landscape architects are working on drawings for phase one of a dog park and a kayak launch, “The thought is, a lot of people are apprehensive about walking the bridges, especially early morning or night, so we have to make a way for people to feel safe, which is to be around other people. A dog park will certainly do that, that’ll bring people in,” Pulaski explained. The first phase will be the dog park and then the second phase will bring an outdoor fitness area under the twin span when it begins to get lower, making the area shady any time of day for workouts. They are looking to get padding for the high-quality equipment which has pedals that generate power. The equipment has Bluetooth capabilities that allow riders to choose which exercise and which intensity level they would like to work out with. 

There will also be shade pavilions by the Intracoastal Canal and a platform stage area. Also, by the Government Towers, they are planning a “pocket park” where there will be tables and benches along with signage instructing how to use tables, chairs, and benches as exercise tools, ”The idea is to create a fitness trail along Main Street. We’ll also put markers down to indicate miles…we want to provide those opportunities and encourage recreation,” Pulaski explained.

With the completion of the bandstand, the construction of the Rotary Centennial Park, and plans for revitalization, one can easily feel the excitement of the direction Downtown Houma is going in. What are you most excited about?