Tulane remains committed to occupy 500,000 square feet of Charity Hospital redevelopment

The revitalization plans for the former New Orleans Charity Hospital at 1532 Tulane Ave. are still in the development phase, and Tulane University remains fully committed to serving as the lead tenant once the building comes back into commerce.

“Tulane University is fully committed to owning, developing, and occupying at least 500,000 square feet of the Charity Hospital Building,” said Patrick Norton, Tulane University Senior VP/COO/Treasurer. “For nearly three centuries, Charity Hospital stood as a beacon of care and hope. Now, after 20 years of vacancy, Louisiana and Tulane have a once-in-a generation opportunity to lead its monumental rebirth. Together, we can transform this iconic structure into a vibrant hub of innovation, creating lasting change for New Orleans and all of Louisiana.”

In 2018, the LSU Real Estate and Facilities Foundation awarded 1532 Tulane Partners Inc. as the development team of the nearly 90-year-old, 20-story hospital building that has been vacant since Hurricane Katrina. 1532 Tulane Partners Inc. is a partnership of local apartment builder Joseph Stebbins (CCNO Development) and Israeli financier Yoel Shargian (El Ad Group). That group released original plans for the development and projected the costs to be around $250 million. But the COVID-19 pandemic, rising construction costs, inflation, interest rate increases, and funding, among other factors, stalled the project. In 2023, 1532 Tulane Partners Inc. began the phase of cleaning, testing, inspection, demo, remediation, and abatement.

In 2024, The Domain Companies and LMXD joined 1532 Tulane Partners Inc. to work together and plan the redevelopment. In addition to Tulane University’s commitment, early plans for the remainder of the building and surrounding space also called for offices for biomedical companies and life sciences tenants to support the work of Tulane University; The Shop co-working space; retail; 250 mixed-income housing units; outdoor café; outdoor seating; and greenspace.

The timetable reported last year was 2027 for the building to be completed, but requests for comments that were sent this year to The Domain Companies and LMXD were not received by press time on the latest status of the redevelopment plans.

Tulane’s proposed commitment is a major expansion of Tulane’s downtown campus within BioDistrict New Orleans. Tulane plans to expand its research and educational facilities (close to 1,000 students and staff in administrative offices, research space, and classrooms); house the Tulane Innovation Institute (new initiative to help researchers bring their findings to market); and relocate the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

— Patrick Norton, Tulane University Senior VP/COO/Treasurer

“This revitalization will feature laboratories, classrooms, retail, dining, and affordable housing — uniting education, research and innovation, business and community to drive progress,” said Norton.

In July 2024, NOLA.com reported that the project applied for but did not receive $16.2 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to assist in the construction of the apartment units. It was reported last year that SKK, a Boston-based private equity firm, was working on the financing of the redevelopment, which could now cost upwards of $600 million, according to an interview last year with Matt Schwartz, Co-CEO of The Domain Companies.

The Domain Companies is known locally for developing South Market – a $500 million, mixed-use, five-block downtown New Orleans area at the intersection of the Central Business District, Warehouse/Arts District, and Sports/Entertainment District. From 2013-2023, The Domain Companies developed a blend of approximately 1,000 luxury apartments and condominiums, 200,000 square feet of retail space, 1,300 garage and surface parking spaces, restaurants, and entertainment space with hospitality venues.

In last year’s article, Schwartz said The Domain Companies was brought into the project in mid-to-late 2023 to assess the status and viability of the Charity Hospital redevelopment.

“We assessed and believed it was still very much achievable. The redevelopment of Charity has the tremendous support of the City and State, local partners, and Tulane University, and so that collective support is important to help us advance in the timeliness that we want to achieve. We have all the pieces of the puzzle in place to move forward,” said Schwartz. “Charity is the most important project and challenge we face as a city; the building’s history makes this project so critical to rid of the eyesore it has been over the last 20 years and revitalize it to the iconic state it was, and the potential it has to become.”