Lafayette's Future Leading Industries
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Oil and gas, the heath care industry and UL has lead Lafayette to where it stand today, but new industries centered around technology is what experts say will carry the city into the future.
Architect and history enthusiast, Lynn Guidry, said "A real plus needs to happen and I think the key to that is technology."
Some of the most cutting edge technology is already happening in Lafayette. Entities like LITE are helping shape the cities future.
Guidry said, "LITE could have as great of an impact on Lafayette as oil did 50 years ago."
You may have driven by and seen the unique egg-shaped LITE building on Cajundome Boulevard…but what’s happening inside is even more exciting than what it looks like on the outside.
Henry Florsheim, the CEO of LITE, said "putting a developer inside that 6 sided cave and letting them walk down the street themselves, get a real feel for what's going on now and what the possibilities are that's going to help to spur a whole lot of development that may not happen otherwise."
The technology which creates a virtual downtown Lafayette inside the cube doesn’t just attract developers.
"We have companies from Hollywood, like Pixel Magic, that are looking at Lafayette to do all their special effects work here," Florsheim said.
Not only are we tapping into the movie industry, but soon Lafayette will have the fastest internet speed in the state…thanks to LUS.
Guidry said, "Businesses can be located here and have just about more bandwidth than any other place in the state."
With the infrastructure for Lafayette’s future already in place, Guidry expects the city’s population to reach over 400,000 by 2030.
"If we do have that growth spurt, we need to ask ourselves are we ready for it, are we making the right decisions,” he said.
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