The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and Nicholls State University have announced that Duplantis Design Group has been hired to design the Coastal Center. This announcement officially sets in motion the facility formation phase of the $14.5 million project.
Announced in 2019 by Gov. John Bel Edwards, the planned 33,000-square foot building should go out to bid by the end of the year with construction following the bid process.
A planning and programming effort was completed in 2020 to help determine the location and conceptual design of the facility.
The building will be located on the Nicholls campus at the corner of Acadia Drive and Ordoyne Drive, across from Calecas Hall. “As the state university that is geographically ‘closest to the coast,’ Nicholls is at the epicenter of our coastal land loss crisis and is ideally situated to host this Coastal Center and educate the next generation of leaders in this field,” said Chip Kline , CPRA Chairman and Executive Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Activities.
“This joint venture between CPRA and Nicholls could not come at a better time as we are seeing record interest and investment in coastal projects across our state. We look forward to watching this concept become a reality in the very near future.” A 5,000-square foot state-of-the-art coastal exhibit area will be dedicated to ongoing coastal restoration efforts in Southeast Louisiana.
The collaborative space will allow for scientists from all over the state, including those from CPRA, the Water Institute of the Gulf and Nicholls biological sciences and geomatics departments, to collaborate and advance research to repair and rebuild the state’s receding coastline.
Research will primarily focus on the Atchafalaya River and the Terrebonne Basin, said CPRA.