An insurance brokerage business, HUB International Ltd. was drawn to the Louisiana market by the state’s significant insurance premiums.
“The types of ‘risks’ (as we call them) that operate in the state … create substantial revenue streams and incentives for firms like HUB to service these types of clients,” said Shaun Norris, president of HUB International Gulf South. The company, which started in 1998 in Leamington, Ontario, Canada, acquired Hibernia Insurance Agency from Capital One in 2007, giving HUB International Gulf South a foothold in Louisiana.
“[The] focus on the energy, maritime, real estate and hospitality verticals of the insurance business brought HUB a diversity of expertise they were looking to leverage,” explained Norris.
Today, HUB International Gulf South operates 27 offices in Louisiana (regional headquarters are in Metairie), Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.
“HUB is proud to represent over 2,000 clients across Southeast Louisiana,” Norris says. “From employee benefits to commercial and personal property/casualty insurance, we have customers from all the industries native to our hometown. Our [Metairie] location pulls from the Northshore and the west bank, and St. Charles and Orleans parishes. We are centrally located at the intersection of I-10 and Causeway. When our lease was approaching renewal, we decided to recommit and invest in improving the regional headquarters.”
To do so, the company partnered with New York City-based Ted Moudis Associates (TMA) to redesign the existing office space into a modern, inviting and personalized, workplace.
“TMA has had a long-standing relationship with HUB International, partnering with them on projects throughout the United States,” said DeAnne Thomas, senior project director with TMA. “We were tasked with creating a space that looked like a HUB office, but also had clear New Orleans influences. TMA provided the interior design and space-planning services. As is the case with most of our assignments, this was a team effort between me, Janice Fellows, design director and team leader, and Cynthia Weber, design manager.”
The company occupies the second and third floors of 3510 N. Causeway Blvd. and remained open during the two-phase renovation process.
“We began with the third-floor renovation, [and] employees were able to utilize current space on the second floor as well as work remotely,” Norris says. “Once the third floor was completed, second-floor renovations began, and the same process was used.”
The overall renovation—which began in March 2023 and was completed the following November — has created an open and collaborative space, relocating the main conference room, large kitchen and some of the offices. HUB also gave up a portion of its second floor since the company allows employees to work on a hybrid schedule and utilizes a reservation seating system.
“There was a strategic evaluation of the existing space to determine which elements were in alignment with the new office layout and function,” Thomas says. “An estimated 80% of the current layout is new construction.”
The goal was to transform the space to prioritize shared areas, conference rooms and enhanced technology.
“We wanted a high-energy vibe upon entrance to our offices that continues into every area of our two floors,” said Norris.
“The old HUB space had served its function but had become dated; the floor plan was lined with perimeter offices that had no windows into the open office area, and the open office workstations had large footprints and high panels,” Thomas said. “Many of the offices have been moved to the interior, and all offices now have full-glass fronts. The workstations have been updated with a more modern layout, lower panels and height-adjustable desks.”
Modern conference facilities, a new cafe and bright, open floor plans were part of the upgrade.
“There’s also an updated reception area, a new boardroom, meeting rooms of varying sizes, both open and private office spaces, open collaboration zones, and standard office-support spaces,” Thomas said. “The [cafe] mirrors hip coffee shops rather than a dated breakroom.”
The New Orleans influences are especially apparent in the cafe, which has custom metal and acoustic screens (inspired by the ironwork seen throughout the Garden District) to delineate the booths in the seating area. “There are [also] French-style tiles to mimic the mosaics found in many historic restaurants and hotel lobbies,” Thomas said. “Throughout the space, there are various elements inspired by the Louisiana wetlands and New Orleans jazz.”
Existing mechanical equipment located above the ceiling created a challenge during the redesign.
“[It] would have been very costly to move; therefore, some of the exposed ceiling areas were modified accordingly,” Thomas says. “Thanks to a creative design, these adjustments are indistinguishable, and one would never know it wasn’t the original layout.”
According to Norris, standout features include the artwork, the use of the HUB logo on conference room doors and the cafe, all of which exemplify HUB’s local and regional work environment. “Our cafe is especially personalized to the region,” he says. “A hand-painted mural of New Orleans City Park provided by a local set designer now adorns our dining area. It is a favorite of our employees.”
HUB International Gulf South 3510 N. Causeway Blvd., Ste. 300 // Metairie // hubinternational.com/offices/us/louisiana/metairie // facebook.com/HUBInternationalLimited // linkedin.com/company/hub-international
