Land found for campus

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Story ran Jan. 15)

Pellerin Life Insurance Company is offering to donate nine acres of land behind its offices and adjacent to the St. Martin School Board’s new administrative building for a new South Louisiana Community College campus.

SLCC Chancellor Dr. Natalie Harder said the state will have to do its due diligence but she called the offer a “strong option.”

The Legislature has appropriated $9.2 million for the construction of a new school but there’s no money for land. Neither the old Louisiana Technical College Evangeline Campus in St. Martinville or the former old St. Martinville High football field are big enough for the new campus envisioned by Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS).

“We are pleased to announce that Pellerin Life Insurance Company has signed the LCTCS Facilities Corporation form to officially offer to donate nine acres of land, in the Corporate Center development in Breaux Bridge, for the construction of the new South Louisiana Community College (SLCC), St. Martin Parish campus,” said Frank E. Pellerin, president of Pellerin Life Insurance, in a news release.

“We did not submit an offer to donate property when the original request for a land donor, in upper St. Martin Parish, was made on Sept. 19, 2013, and again on Oct. 17, 2013,” Pellerin said.

“However, after meeting Dr. Natalie Harder, chancellor of SLCC, at a Breaux Bridge Kiwanis club meeting in December, we decided to consider donating property upon learning that after two requests for donors in nearly four months, no formal offers were received. Knowing that upper St. Martin Parish could lose the SLCC campus without a land donor, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, we signed the offer to donate nine acres of property that meets the required criteria for the new campus. We welcome the opportunity to work with SLCC and LCTCS on this project.”

In a response to Pellerin, made available to the Teche News, Harder said:

“SLCC appreciates the opportunity to explore the use of the Pellerin property for its new campus in St. Martin parish. Despite two ‘requests for land’ released last year, no other formal offers for property have come forth.

“The Pellerin property appears to provide much needed campus access, room for growth, and the opportunity for improved campus safety as student and employee parking would not be located across the street from the actual building. In addition, having the St. Martin Parish School Board offices within walking distance will facilitate growth in dual enrollment and other high school and college collaboration.

“SLCC, LCTCS, and appropriate state agencies will begin to conduct due diligence on potential infrastructure needs of the proposed property, but SLCC is encouraged to potentially have a strong option for the new St. Martin parish campus which is expected to begin construction on July 1, 2014.”

In a town hall-style meeting in St. Martinville last September, Harder said that in addition to vocational and technical courses, the campus will offer general education classes so students can work toward college degrees similar to the Early College Academy Program in Lafayette, which takes students beginning at 9th grade and sees them through a two-year associate’s degree at no cost to the student.