Transforming its physical spaces for the next generation of students is a top priority at Tulane, and has brought about a kind of renaissance of building, renovations and expansions throughout the uptown, downtown and North Shore campuses.
Two recently dedicated buildings are already servicing the Tulane community on the uptown campus, including the Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex and Mussafer Hall. Construction of The Commons is currently underway and is scheduled for completion in July 2019. The next bold project to break ground will be the Steven and Jann Paul Hall for Science and Engineering. An update to the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life is also on the horizon.
Tulane, which has a long and storied presence in downtown New Orleans, will look to increase its footprint there through its role in the redevelopment of New Orleans’ iconic Charity Hospital — one of its most important partnerships in recent memory. Tulane has entered into serious discussions with a “letter of interest” with 1532 Tulane Partners, the group selected to redevelop Charity Hospital.
Tulane has also constructed a new downtown police station with a fitness center not far behind. The A. B. Freeman School of Business now has a presence in the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI) building, 725 Howard Ave., at the corner of Howard Avenue and Carondelet Street, beginning next spring.
Finally, the university recently completed a pair of additions to its North Shore campus, the Tulane National Primate Research Center.
Future projects will include a new uptown police station, the unveiling of a new housing master plan following the completion of The Commons and the formation of an uptown science district.
Mussafer Hall
The newest addition to the Tulane campus, Mussafer Hall was dedicated on Sept. 28, 2018. Named in honor of David (B ’85) and Marion Mussafer, who pledged a $5 million gift, Mussafer Hall dynamically combines for the first time in one location key Newcomb-Tulane College services dedicated to the success of students in their academics, careers and lives. These services include career programming, academic advising and success coaching.
Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex
With its striking glass façade, light-filled classrooms and towering central atrium, the Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex at the A. B. Freeman School of Business was dedicated on March 2, 2018. The complex features more than 92,000 square feet of new and renovated space to accommodate the business school’s growing enrollment. The Goldring Family Foundation provided the anchor gift for the renovation and expansion of the $35 million complex.
Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life
When work on The Commons is completed in 2019, the LBC will serve as a hub of student life in conjunction with The Commons. It will feature new programming and will include an even more student-friendly atmosphere.
Steven and Jann Paul Hall for Science and Engineering
Tulane graduates Steve (A&S ’72, G ’75, M ’75) and Jann (SW ’73) Paul made a $10 million gift to support the construction of a new School of Science and Engineering building. Work on the Steven and Jann Paul Hall for Science and Engineering is scheduled to begin in 2019. The building, which will be located between Stanley Thomas Hall and Donna and Paul Flower Hall for Research and Innovation will include classrooms, labs and collaborative spaces for increased student and faculty interaction.
The Commons
Tulane received an anonymous anchor gift for The Commons, a three-story building that will provide the university community with a new dining facility, study areas, classrooms and a new home for Newcomb College Institute. The Commons, a $55 million, 77,000-square-foot multipurpose facility, will connect with the second floor of the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life (LBC).
Charity Hospital
1532 Tulane Partners, a group not affiliated with Tulane University, was selected through a bid process to redevelop Charity Hospital in October. Once approved, a predevelopment agreement between the LSU Board of Supervisors, which currently oversees Charity Hospital, and 1532 Tulane Partners must be negotiated before entering a ground lease. The developers estimate the project will cost $245 million and could be completed in late 2021 or early 2022. Tulane University would be an anchor tenant and occupy approximately 300,000 square feet of the facility with research space, classrooms, housing for students, and faculty and administrative offices.
Tulane National Primate Research Center
The Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC) recently added a 4,263-square-foot central surgical facility and a 1,200-square-foot imaging center that includes a Mediso MultiScan PET/CT imager, which is currently just one of four in the world. Partial funding for the surgical facility came from the National Institutes of Health. A majority of the funds for the imaging center project came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as part of their tuberculosis vaccine development project in which the TNPRC will be a participant. Goals of the imaging project include developing tools and infrastructure to support an efficient process to test tuberculosis vaccine concepts and to foster greater innovation, collaboration and coordination within the tuberculosis landscape. The imaging center will make possible studies in genome editing, infectious diseases other than tuberculosis, and diseases of inflammation and aging.
TUPD Downtown Police Station/Fitness Center
Tulane’s police department has a more visible presence in the downtown area with the addition of a new police station, which was formally dedicated in early November. Construction will soon begin on a new downtown fitness center with a completion date set for fall 2019.
New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute
Tulane’s Freeman School now has a downtown location, too, with a new business school facility at the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI). Dedicated in February 2019, the expansion enables the Freeman School to deliver programming in hospitality entrepreneurship that leverages its close proximity to NOCHI students as well as programs aimed at working professionals and national and international visitors to the city.
This story originally appeared in the December 2018 issue of Tulanian magazine.
