ALTA Survey – Downtown Lafayette Federal Courthouse Building

• Client

  OFCH, LLC

• Division

  Survey & Mapping

• Scope

  ALTA/NSPS Survey, Topographical Survey, Boundary Survey

Built in 1958, the 88,000 square-foot Old Federal Courthouse complex in downtown Lafayette had been vacant for nearly 20 years.  A part of Lafayette’s downtown district revitalization, all three historic buildings were selected for redevelopment into a mixed-use building for residential apartments, restaurants, and retail spaces. OFCH, LLC, approached Fenstermaker to perform an ALTA survey of the ±2.2-acre site and to assist in navigating the project through the Lafayette Parish Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z).

To comply with the accuracy standards that an ALTA level survey requires, Fenstermaker utilized terrestrial laser scanning and total station survey technology to collect all the data around the project site to mitigate any potential interference that the buildings may have caused. The data collected was processed and extracted utilizing Trimble Business Center and Leica Cyclone software.

As a part of the ALTA survey, Fenstermaker conducted additional research into right-of-way development around the building.  Since there had been multiple beautification projects that had changed the landscape around the property during the last 20 years, developing the boundary was extremely challenging. After days of research at the Parish courthouse and a week of data collection in the field, Fenstermaker developed the boundary for the site. Locating utilities on and around the project site was a significant undertaking. Fenstermaker utilized many years of utility company documentation and contacts to have all utilities marked and accounted for in the survey.   The redeveloped complex is now known as “The Lofts at Municipal” and opened in April of 2022.