In response to continued growth in externally funded research over the last several years, LSU Health Shreveport announced plans today to reimagine the former Sears property located at Mall St. Vincent as a state-of-the-art research facility.
In a continuance of the campus goal to “aim high,” LSUHS leadership partnered with the LSU Health Sciences Foundation, which purchased the property for its benefit. With the current available laboratory and office space in the Biomedical Research Institute and the medical school projected to be filled within the next 18-24 months, a timely expansion of research space became essential to retain and recruit research talent. The projected need for more research space was based on projections of new grants from the National Institutes of Health to be awarded to existing researchers, in addition to the space needs of funded researchers who are being actively recruited to LSU Health Shreveport.
This purchase follows the opening of the $84M Center for Medical Education in late 2023, which marked the first new building on the LSUHS campus in fifteen years. The new facility will elevate the awareness and stature of the research occurring at LSU Health Shreveport while building on the existing strength in the areas of cancer and cardiovascular research.
The former Sears building provides the potential for a modern research facility with wide open spaces, allowing for a timely and cost-effective conversion of the existing Sears interior to research labs and supporting spaces such as faculty offices and educational/conference rooms.
Approaching the increase in research space by reimagining an existing space versus construction of a new research building on the LSU Health Shreveport campus offers numerous benefits to include:
- Expedited construction timeline due to reused versus new space.
- Increasing brand awareness for LSU Health Shreveport due to the outstanding visibility on I-49 corridor
- Delivery of increased activity level to St. Vincent Mall which will enhance safety for all tenants and shoppers.
- Avoids further parking demands on the bustling Kings Highway campus.
- Supports LSU’s vision to become a top 50 research university system.
The property consists of 160,000 square feet of interior space on 18 acres with more than 800 parking spaces. The building is less than a mile from the main LSU Health Shreveport campus. It also opens the door for expansion of future clinical operations by Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport whose primary campus is also nearby.
“My optimism regarding the future of LSU Health Shreveport is increasing exponentially with this future research expansion. The determining factor of the stature of U.S. academic health centers is the amount of externally funded research they acquire.
Through this building project, which will not require any state funding, LSU Health Shreveport instantly becomes much better poised not only attract more world class funded researchers but to give our currently funded researchers the space they deserve and need to grow and thrive” stated David Guzick, MD, PhD, Chancellor, LSU Health Shreveport.
“Moreover, the dollars flowing into Shreveport from external sources, along with potential revitalization of Mall St. Vincent, will spur economic development in the region.”
The LSU Health Sciences Foundation in Shreveport will lead a fundraising campaign to secure financial support for the project. For more information about the project contact 318-861-0855 or
kflood@lsuhsfoundation.org.
