GOZone Boosts Permits - Commercial Construction Rises

New commercial construction and building additions in Lafayette rose in 2007 from 2006, primarily due to the combined draw of Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds and the parish's attractive position near Interstate 10, and away from flooding troubles.

"The GO Zone factor has been critical for new construction," said Dewitt David, commercial sales manager for Van Eaton & Romero. "If you're building, you can depreciate 50 percent of your construction costs. Say I build with $400,000 construction costs, I can write off $200,000 of that." More >