A group of planning experts from the Urban Land Institute presented a series of recommendations on how LSU – and New Orleans – should move forward with redevelopment plans for Charity Hospital. After a week-long study of the site, and surveying of stakeholders and community members, the panel of 10 volunteer planners presented their findings in a public meeting on Friday at the LSU Health New Orleans campus.
Their recommendations included establishing a tax incremental finance (TIF) district in the surrounding neighborhood. The proposed “Spirit of Charity” district would capture a portion of tax revenue to fund improvements in the area and redevelopment of the site.
The TIF district proposed by ULI is roughly bound by Claiborne, Loyola, Poydras and Iberville.
As for the million-square-foot Charity Hospital building itself, the group explored many different options while trying to balance the public benefit with financial viability. Consolidation of municipal functions, multifamily housing, commercial and institutional uses, and a mixture of all of the above were explored – but the decision-making will ultimately be left to the LSU Foundation.
The historic art deco building dates back to 1939, and preservation and adaptive reuse were high on the panel’s priority list. The presented project development scenarios all included incentives from the Federal Historic Tax Credit – which is currently at risk of elimination in Washington DC.
The Urban Land Institute will release a full land-use study will be released in 60 days. A proposed development timeline shows the proposed next steps. The earliest of their recommendations include stabilizing the building, developing a project organizing committee, and issuing an RFQ as early as January 2018.
ULI’s timeline proposes early action items happening as early as January 2018.
Find out more by watching the presentation here. Stay tuned with us for future updates.