Lafayette Veterans Group Eyes Former Lourdes Campus For VA Hospital

A local veterans group is once again pushing for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to use the former Our Lady of Lourdes building as a site for a veterans hospital.

Veterans Action Coaltion co-chairman Tom Grote says the former hospital site could be used to provide an array of services beyond primary and specialty healthcare.

Our Lady of Lourdes moved to its new location on Ambassador Caffery Parkway last year.

The VA has set a goal of expanding the current clinic in Lafayette with additional space and services, but there is a six to 12 month delay in selecting a possible site for a hospital in Lafayette or Lake Charles because of errors in paperwork. Those errors have forced the VA to restart its site selection searches for both cities.

The VA, though, is not the only prospective tenant for the former Lourdes site. The campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is adjacent to the Lourdes property, and the university is in talks to possibly buy the building, expanding its main campus to connect with the athletics campus off of Cajundome Boulevard and Congress Street.

The Lourdes site is for sale at $36 million.