Youngsville continues to grow as the city's first hotel is reportedly in the works.

According to a story from Adam Daigle with The Acadiana Advocate, the fastest growing city in Louisiana will be the site of a $25 million mixed-use project by a Houston-area development firm known as the XAG Group.

CEO and partner of XAG Group, Nathaliah Naipaul tells The Advocate that the project aims to deliver "100,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space along with a hotel that will have 80-85 rooms" along with green space at the center of it all.

Back in December, the group secured property at the corner of Chemin Metairie Parkway and Savoy Road for a little over $2 million. The area is located across the street from the Youngsville Sports Complex—one of the many major reasons why Youngsville Mayor Ken Ritter believes the city needs its own hotel.

It’s necessary and it’s overdue. We continue to attract hundreds to thousands of visitors yearly to our sports complex, some from international destinations. We knew that it wasn’t going to be a matter of if but a matter of when.

The nearest hotels for visitors of the Youngsville Sports Complex are located in Broussard, but far too often, teams, athletes, and families say they are faced with a struggle to find lodging.

City of Youngsville
City of Youngsville
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Not only do rooms book up throughout the entire city of Lafayette when tournaments are taking place, but when you factor in the multiple concerts, festivals, or events that are taking place on any given weekend, it's almost impossible to find space.

Large tournaments like the ones hosted by the Youngsville Sports Complex are enough to justify the city having its own hotel, but remember that part earlier when I told you that Youngsville was the fastest growing city in Louisiana? Well. those families have extended family—and when they come to town to visit, they often have to look for hotel rooms that are at least 20 minutes away from where their loved ones reside.

As far as the hotel brand that we could see in Youngsville goes, XAG Group says they haven't locked one in yet but there are commitments in place that are currently waiting "to get it done."

In addition to the hotel, XAG Group says they're also looking for tenants to occupy space in the development and there have already been rumors swirling about popular franchises that could be making their way to the planned mixed-use project in Youngsville.

City of Youngsville
City of Youngsville
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The development group announced details on the project recently at the Youngsville Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet earlier this month.

I admire the energy of the mayor and all the plans he has for this town. We love that he cares about his community, and you can truly feel his passion for it. Looking at this town and all its potential and seeing how united the people are, we are very excited to work with the community creating jobs and supporting the local businesses. It’s an honor to be working with this town, and we look forward to many more future projects.

This is welcome news for Youngsville after its City Council adopted the Master Plan for our latest phase of the Youngsville Sports Complex earlier this week. The expansion will be on the city’s 46.5 acres of land located east of the current complex and Detente Road.

There are other projects in the works as well as Youngsville continues to grow into its large population that has flocked to the city over the last decade. The projects include educational institutions, restaurants, retail, and more living.

One thing Ritter is focusing on is that ALL of Youngsville continues to grow as opposed to just the "hot spots."

I do think that (area is) definitely a hot spot for us right now. But my mantra has been as Youngsville grows, we grow together. I want to make sure we’re investing in all areas of our city so no one is left behind. I’m of the opinion that the right development is good at any location. It doesn’t have to be around the sports complex.

In the meantime, we're anxiously waiting to see the ground break on the hotel as the exciting development continues in Youngsville.

City of Youngsville
City of Youngsville
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Check out the full story via The Advocate here.

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