Lafayette, LA- After a months-long search, officials with CGI announced the company has signed a lease to occupy 50,000 square feet in Versailles Centre in Downtown Lafayette. The company's 500-plus employees currently work in the UL Lafayette Research Park and a smaller office on Jefferson Street, according to a release from LEDA.
"We are incredibly excited about this milestone. With a recent influx of new residential options, local restaurants, activities, and nightlife, expanding our presence in Downtown Lafayette is a strategic complement to CGI's presence at University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Research Park," said Will LaBar, Vice President of CGI's U.S. Delivery Center Program. "Lafayette continues to be a thriving location in our U.S. Delivery Center network and proves that comprehensive public-private partnerships that leverage local ecosystems work. We are creating a talent greenhouse here that supports CGI's clients across the country and helps us reach our hiring target of 800 CGI professionals in Lafayette."
At its research park location on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus, CGI began operations in late 2014 and surpassed its goal of 400 employees by early 2018. In May 2018, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced CGI would create an additional 400 jobs and expand with a second Lafayette location.
"Successfully establishing a partnership with CGI, UL Lafayette, and LEDA, the State of Louisiana is building economic opportunity for our emerging workforce of talented technology professionals," said LED Secretary Don Pierson. "At this new location, CGI and its employees will again invest in Louisiana and contribute even more to the community and state, as they grow here. It's easy to understand their selection of this location with the exceptional quality of life that downtown Lafayette offers."
"CGI's expansion into the Versailles Centre is great news for the community; and I feel privileged to have such great news to share at the start of my term," said Josh Guillory, Lafayette Mayor-President. "Four hundred jobs moving into downtown Lafayette will be a great boost to commerce in the district and the community."
Of the CGI employees who work in Lafayette today, 78% were already living in Louisiana when they were hired, including over half from Acadiana. The remaining 22% brought additional experiences and expertise that has enriched Lafayette and furthered its reputation as a cosmopolitan city. About one-third of CGI's new hires start their employment directly after college.
"The University is proud of its relationship with CGI and congratulates the company as it moves into Downtown Lafayette. CGI is sure to be a vital addition to the continued growth of downtown's innovation ecosystem," said Dr. Joseph Savoie, President of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "We believe the proximity of the company's new offices to the University's main campus will create even greater opportunities for our students and faculty to engage with CGI and other downtown organizations that support entrepreneurship and innovation."
"Today's news is a continuation of years of collaboration between LEDA, including our partners in the Legislature and on the Council, and CGI," said Gregg Gothreaux, President and CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA). "Since arriving in Lafayette, CGI has been a model corporate citizen and the company's positive impact on the community will grow as they continue their expansion."
