Ortego Is Preserving St. Landry
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
It could perhaps be accurate to describe Stephen Ortego as an architectural first responder.
He sees a structure in distress, makes a critical assessment and then creates a method to sustain it.
During the past five years, Ortego has been busy at what he calls, “bringing buildings back to life.”
Two recently completed St. Landry Parish projects, the early 19th century Klaus Hotel in Washington and the former Sunset High classroom building in addition to a projected renovation of the former Federal Post Office Building in Opelousas, have kept Ortego more than engaged.
On Tuesday Ortego told the Opelousas Noon Rotary Club that as an historical architect, he’s working in the right neighborhood, since the parish has a unique footprint with many buildings that need attention.
The Klaus Hotel and the Opelousas federal buildings are targets for the rapidly-growing boutique hotel market, while the previously abandoned Sunset High building will soon accommodate a segment of students from Ecole St. Landry, charter school which has outgrown its current campus.
It took about three years to transform the Klaus building, once a mercantile store with family living arrangements above, into a nine room hotel, backyard pool and a newly-completed bar and lounge that hosted a New Years party that attracted about 75 people.
For his effort at refurbishing the hotel, Ortego was presented with the 2024 Parish Preservationist Award by The Preservationists of St. Landry, Inc.
Financing the Klaus project was done through tax credits and private funding and occupancy has increased during the past several months, according to Ortego.
Individuals booking rooms are sometimes connected to wedding parties that celebrate at the Wolff Building a block away and then choose to stay over the same night.
There are also individuals from urban areas of the state who want to experience Washington and its historic setting, Ortego said.
One couple pedaling across the country dismounted from their tandem bicycle, knew about the hotel and decided to book a room, Ortego added.
The bar area has been collecting previously unwanted oil and pastel portraits of persons known and unknown and hanging the paintings in the lounge area, Ortego noted.
“People started coming to us with paintings of people or relatives that they knew. They didn’t know what to do with the paintings, but they are now hanging on walls of the bottom floor of the hotel, with an audience and where everyone can see them,” Ortego said.
The school building in Sunset will be used this year for testing and eventually be used for classroom space, Ortego pointed out.
In Opelousas the Federal Building completed originally in the 1890’s, will have 22 rooms and two spaces for bars.
Ortego received $1.5 million in Opelousas Downtown Development gap funding with low interest that will act as a loan and seed money as the project moves forward, Ortego said.
The Opelousas downtown project is currently in a design phase, as Ortego completes the sale with the previous owner, Ortego pointed out.
