301 N Norman C Francis Pkwy.

District: Mid-City - Partial Control

Owner: Margarets Daughters St, Mercy Partners LLC

HDLC Staff: Chad Spurlin

Rating: Contributing

Applicant: Woodward Design Build

Permit #: 25-31362-HDLC

HDLC Guidelines: 

Section 12, Pages 23-24 of the Guidelines for New Construction, Additions and Demolition states that the demolition of all or portions of historic resources within a local Historic District or Landmark site are considered drastic actions, since they alter the character of the area. Once historic resources or buildings that contribute to the heritage of the community are destroyed, it is generally impossible to reproduce their design, texture, materials, details and their special character and interest in the neighborhood. When reviewing demolition applications at properties located within a Historic District or at a Landmark site, the HDLC uses the following criteria in its evaluations:

• The historic or architectural significance of the building or structure as designated by its “rating”:  Contributing

• The importance of the building or structure to the tout ensemble of the area:  The interconnected complex of buldings, ranging from one to five stories, sits on an over six acre site at a prominent corner of the Mid-City Local Historic District. In the immediate post-World War II period,  the Mid-City neighborhood experienced intensive commercial, industrial and insitutional development. New Orleans increasing population necessitated an increase in hospital capacity. In 1949, the Sisters of Mercy announced plans for a new 300-bed Mercy Hospital to be located in Mid-City. 

The two original components of the hospital campus are the Main Hospital Building, constructed in 1953 with additions constructed between 1957 and 1980, and the Nurses School and Home, constructed in 1953 with a 1975 addition. Two buildings were later added to the site: the Power Plant (1667-1994) and the Mercy Medical Plaza (1983-1994), the latter of which has been rehabilitated as St Margaret's at Mercy senior living.

• The alternatives to demolition that have been explored by the applicant: 

Buildings of this size are often difficult to rehabilitate towards new uses, particularly without public funding.

The applicant has secured Part I and Part II State Historic Preservation Office approvals, allowing for State and Ferderal Historic Tax Credits to be utilized in rehabilitation plans. However, these credits were secured by increasing the boundaries of the Mid-City Historic District, not by individually listing of the building as architectually significant. 

Additionally,  previous efforts for rehabitation have fallen through. Current owners, Woodward Investments, purchased the building in 2021 with the intent to renovate the building into a senior living center, dependent on financing from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development which never materialized after two years. A special exemption, needed because the building has a basement within a flood zone, was never received.

In 2017, a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency paid for asbestos removal and the Louisianca Department of Environmental Quality funded the removal of underground storage tanks.

In 2010, St. Margaret's Daughters renovated the former medical office building on the site into a 112-bed nursing facility. This building is excluded from the demolition request. 

• The difficulty or impossibility of reproducing such a building or structure because of its design, texture, material or detail: Although the concrete structure and masonry clad building could be easily replicated today, the size of the structure would make reconstruction prohibitively costly.

• The special character and aesthetic interest that the building or structure adds to the local Historic District:  The Moderne-influenced building is indicative of its time at the later decades of the Mid-City District's Period of Significance (until 1961). While contributing to the district, the structure is not considered Significant and is not landmarked. 

• The condition of the building or structure: An exterior inspection was conducted by HDLC Staff on October 21, 2025. While the building does not appear to be structurally compromised, the exterior shows extensive deterioration with broken windows, graffiti, and  likely roof deterioration.  

An interior inspection of the building was not performed. The building being vacant and open to the elements for two decades indicates extensive deterioration and highly unsafe conditions.

Staff Recommendations: 

The Lindy Boggs Medical Center, formerly known as Mercy Hospital, was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Mid-city residents and goverment officials have continously bemoaned its blight on the community. Because the building been abandoned for decades and rehabilitation efforts have been exhausted, HDLC staff recommends demolition of the building to grade.

• Recommendation: Approve