CrescentCare, a federally qualified health center (FQHC), offers health and wellness services across Greater New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana via four locations — including a legal services center in Baton Rouge, exchange support center in Houma, and labs and services in St. Roch and Mid-City.
The organization’s Mid-City presence recently received an overhaul with the April 2024 opening of the MidCity Community Health Center, a redevelopment of the four-story former United Way of Southeast Louisiana building.
“We had outgrown our previous rented location (21,814 square feet) and needed more space with a specific design and infrastructure focus on medical and mental health care,” explained Alice Riener, CEO of CrescentCare.
Originally constructed in 1957 and designed by Curtis and Davis Architects and Engineers (the renowned New Orleans architects behind the Superdome), the Canal Street building sustained significant water damage during Hurricane Ida. While CrescentCare entered into negotiations in 2021 to purchase the property, the need for a new roof delayed the purchase until June 2022. Construction began in February 2023, and CrescentCare began seeing patients at its new flagship location in April 2024.
The water damage from Hurricane Ida not only impacted the roof, but water intrusion also affected all four floors of the building.
“We ended up gutting almost the entire building, and we completely changed the layout of every floor to support patient care and the flow of a medical facility,” Riener said. “We also replaced all of the windows to ensure protection from hurricane damage in the future and to enhance the natural light.”
Early in the process, CrescentCare enlisted Gulf Coast Housing Partnership — a nonprofit dedicated to creating affordable housing and community-centered commercial spaces — to oversee the venture from initial concept and financing through design and construction. With more than 19 years of experience in property development, covering 75 multifamily and commercial projects, GCHP was well equipped to effectively bridge the gap between partners and the design team.
“For CrescentCare, we helped ensure their needs were clearly communicated to all stakeholders, aligning operational goals with a functional and welcoming design,” says Anna Labadie, senior project manager at GCHP. “We assisted in identifying a suitable Mid-City location, advised on the building acquisition, structured and secured project financing, and managed the design and construction processes. The benefit of working with a large-scale developer like GCHP is access to a full team of professionals. Our capitalization, project management, construction and accounting teams all played a vital role in ensuring the success of this project.”
The $21.7 million venture required a complex financing structure, incorporating conventional/senior debt, new markets tax credits, federal and state historic tax credits, and funding from the Community Economic Development program (through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Community Services).
“Historic tax credits were a key component of our financing package,” Riener said. “They also enabled us to maintain the important historical character and historical significance of the building.”
The architects for the project, AQ Studios, preserved the building’s historic exterior and installed a new curtain wall to replicate the original window system. Inside, they retained the building’s original terrazzo stairs and a set of doors.
“Though most of the interior is new, the architects did a remarkable job of preserving the mid-century feel of the building,” Labadie said.
The new Mid-City location, which is 40% larger than CrescentCare’s previous home, has allowed the organization to significantly expand its ability to provide primary care, mental health care, case management, and pediatric services.
“We operate as a medical home with a care-team model (our staff work together as a team across disciplines to serve our patients), Riener explained, “[which] is possible because of the layout in the new building.”
The renovated health center now features 32 exam rooms, three procedure rooms, 19 offices for case management and behavioral health, 46 workspaces — including 16 that are private — a demonstration kitchen, a large lunch room/staff break room, a community room and two conference rooms.
In addition to primary care and mental health services, the facility features an Avita Pharmacy located on the first floor. There’s also a natural gas generator on the roof that can power the entire building in the case of a power outage.
CrescentCare Mid-City is now home to 60 staff members, including doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, psychiatrists, case managers, therapists and front desk staff. The location can welcome 54 patients at any given time.
Since opening, CrescentCare has seen 17,408 visits and delivered care and services to more than 5,708 unique patients.
Reiner said the design of the facility is patient-focused and rooted in the beauty of New Orleans.
“Between the large old live oak that stands in front of the building and the artwork adorning the walls, it does not feel like a typical doctor’s office,” she said. “We have donations from the Amistad Research Center that depict historical aspects of the city. One of my other favorite parts are the murals in the breezeway underneath the building. The art and murals are thanks to Arthur Roger Gallery and the work was donated by many artists in our community.”
CrescentCare Mid-City
2515 Canal St.
504-821-2601 // crescentcare.org // IG: @crescentcarenola // FB: @crescentcare
Quick Look
Number of Years in Operation: 42
Square Footage: 33,000
Number of Employees: 60
Persons in Charge: Alice Riener, CEO
Architecture: AQ Studios — Charlie Ward
Furniture: AOS Interior Environments: Suzanne Dumez
Art and furnishings: Arthur Roger Gallery
