LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Basin Arts identifies themselves as a container for creativity. That container is moving a couple of blocks down the road to a World War II era chapel on Jefferson Blvd. on the North side of Lafayette.

Clare Cook with Basin Arts and Ravi Daggula with the investment group Sterling Hospitality bought the former House of Faith Full Gospel Church with plans to restore the building.

“Our work is so much about intersection and cross roads of disciplines, people, culture, and ideas. I am honored and thrilled to be able to expand our work just literally five minutes down the road but into a space at Pontiac point on Jefferson Street that for the last chunk of time hasn’t seen as much vibrancy or as much creativity is it has in the past. But yet it has so much beauty, history, and potential,” said Cook.

The move to the chapel is exciting for Basin Arts as the building is more than double the size of the building they currently occupy. Cook hopes that moving into such a historic space and doing such interdisciplinary work will encourage more people to migrate to the North side.

Ravi Daggula is a native of India. He moved to Lafayette to attend UL-Lafayette. Lafayette is now his home and he is the owner and developer of several historic properties on the north side. He feels a certain responsibility to the Lafayette community as well.

“The idea of bringing new life, new history and bringing the history forward through arts and creativity feels like an honor and a big responsibility that we’re not taking lightly,” Daggula said.

In next week’s edition of Moving Acadiana Forward, we hear more from Ravi and Clare about the resources they are bringing to the North side and the development they hope will follow.