A once-vacant and deteriorating property in New Iberia’s Li’l Brooklyn neighborhood has been transformed into a new community gathering space with the completion of Marie L. Kelly Plaza.
Residents, city officials and supporters gathered Wednesday morning, July 22, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the plaza, which sits on the former site of a longtime grocer and butcher store that served the Li’l Brooklyn community for many years before eventually closing.
After the store shut down, the building remained standing for years and became a growing concern as the structure deteriorated and posed a potential danger to the surrounding area.
The redevelopment of the property now gives the site a new purpose while preserving its importance within the neighborhood’s history…