KEY TAKEAWAYS: Tulane plans to renovate 24,000 square feet in a historic Central City building. The Graduate Hub will accommodate up to 120 students, faculty and staff. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2026 and finish in summer 2027. Tulane will lease the Gulf Coast Housing Partnershi p-owned property for 10 years.   Tulane University’s School of Architecture and Built Environment plans to renovate 24,000 square feet of a historic Central City building into a new graduate education facility capable of accommodating up to 120 students, faculty and staff. The university is working with New Orleans-based developer Gulf Coast Housing Partnership on the Graduate Hub at 1833 Polymnia St., near the Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard corridor. Construction is expected to begin this fall, with completion planned for summer 2027 and classes beginning in fall 2027. Third floor corridor with flex space for reviews and pin-ups, as well as a tiered atrium staircase. The three-story building, constructed around 1900 and formerly used as a department store and warehouse, will include a large studio, classrooms, a lecture hall, research and advanced fabrication labs, meeting rooms, offices and a student lounge. Tulane said the facility is intended to accommodate growth in the architecture school’s graduate programs while expanding its teaching, research and community engagement capabilities. The Graduate Hub will supplement the school’s existing facilities rather than replace Richardson Memorial Hall on Tulane’s uptown campus. Richardson reopened in March 2025 following a renovation. Street view of The Graduate Hub’s signature, historic beams. “Providing this dedicated facility means we will offer a unique graduate student experience within urban contexts that enhance our students’ built environment education and enrich our research and community engagement initiatives,” said Iñaki Alday, dean of the School of Architecture and Built Environment. Plans also call for a historic preservation lab, outdoor fabrication space and large event hall. Local architecture firms CCWIV and Colectivo are leading the design. Plans call for preserving the building’s façade and incorporating four large exterior support beams that have braced its south side for more than a decade. Courtyard fabrication space under beams and textile facade. “The design combines the careful preservation of the building with an exciting textile façade that reuses the existing bracings on the side,” Alday said. “The intersection of preservation and reuse is present throughout the project, which has been noted with approval and enthusiasm from local historical review groups like the New Orleans Historic District Landmarks Commission and Louisiana’s State Historic Preservation Office.” Gulf Coast Housing Partnership owns the building and is overseeing state, local and federal approval processes, including permitting and historic preservation reviews. Tulane will be the building’s primary tenant under a 10-year lease that includes an extension option. The location also places graduate students near Tulane’s Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design at 1725 Baronne St. The center, which has worked with New Orleans nonprofits and community organizations for about 20 years, will remain at its existing location. The Advanced Fabrication Lab workspace, a new addition to the school’s Fabrication Labs resources, on the first floor of the Graduate Hub. Tulane said having the two facilities near each other will allow for greater collaboration and the sharing of fabrication resources. “We are excited to partner with the Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment to bring new life to this historic building,” said Kathy Laborde, president and CEO of Gulf Coast Housing Partnership. “This project aligns closely with GCHP’s mission and builds on our work along the Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard corridor, while creating a space that will help educate the next generation of architects, designers, preservationists and developers.” Gulf Coast Housing Partnership also has met with neighborhood businesses and nonprofit organizations, including the Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard Merchants Business Association, to discuss the project and gather feedback. Second floor lounge inside the Graduate Hub. Image courtesy of Colectivo. Jiarra Rayford, president of the merchants association, said the project could generate additional foot traffic and economic activity for businesses along the corridor. “The Graduate Hub can contribute to the vision and the continued growth of the corridor,” Rayford said. “I look forward to the foot traffic it will bring, the intentionality behind choosing this part of the community and the economic stimulus it will provide to our small business owners. Most of all, I look forward to the collaboration it creates with the community and residents, and the boost it will bring to our overall quality of life.” Off-street parking will be available at the Graduate Hub. Tulane also is working on transportation service to the facility beginning in fall 2027. ...read more read less