Photo by: Danielle Breaux

Nicholls State University has been creating plans to upgrade their business facilities and academic halls. 

Contractors from Ratcliff Construction began working on the Coastal Center on Aug. 21. This work is expected to be completed by November 2024. The Duplantis Design Group will be designing the project which is set to be 42,000 sq. ft. and will include research labs, exhibits, office spaces and conference rooms. Funded by Capital Outlay and a Coastal Protection & Restoration Authority [CPRA] donation, it is expected to cost $21 million. 

A new nursing building will be built behind Ayo Hall. Designed by GFP Architecture and funded by Capital Outlay, the project will cost $27, 499,897. The new building is currently being designed. 

The Bayou Region Incubator will be funded by a federal grant. It is set to cost about $2.3 million and will be built and designed by Del-Con, LLC and GFP Architecture. 

Danielle Breaux, Director of Facilities and Project Management said, “The Bayou Region Incubator, that’s the Capital One building that we bought downtown. It’s currently being renovated right now and Ms. Lacey Crochet–she works for Dr. Clune–she’s his special projects coordinator, she got a federal grant.” 

“The Bayou Region Incubator started advertising space. If you want to start your own business, you can pay a lesser fee than if you had to rent a building. You can go in their, in the office, and start your business there,” said Breaux. 

The contract is en route to finalize the window replacements in Hill Hall. A pre-construction meeting will be held when the contract is executed. Its expected completion date is estimated to be sometime in Spring 2024. With contractor McInerney & Associates working on the project, it will cost around $450 thousand and has been privately funded. McInerney & Associates also replaced the windows in Elkins Hall. 

Breaux said, “A couple, Lew and Linda Myers, donated the funds to replace the windows at Hill Hall and Hill Hall is very special because it was one of the earliest buildings on campus. It was designed by a famous Louisiana architect, A. Hays Town. It’s really awesome. They reached out to our department that does all of the fundraising–Jeremy Becker and their team– they reached out and said they wanted to help.”