A 60,000-sq-ft addition and 7,500-sq-ft renovation has transformed and modernized a senior living community’s 160-year-old building, which now features nearly 80 private rooms spread across three floors and two buildings.

The project also makes Poydras Home the first eldercare facility in Louisiana to adopt a nationally acclaimed model of care known as the Green House Project. Each building includes a central community gathering space and kitchen, along with a separate fitness center and various versatile spaces, offering a modern and community-focused environment for its residents.

Completed in two phases over 26 months, the $19-million project faced several supply chain, logistical and pandemic-related challenges. Crews navigated extremely tight existing site conditions, with just 10 ft between the new building and the adjacent tennis courts, historic live oaks and occupied residence buildings, requiring extensive coordination efforts. Vibration monitoring helped limit impacts throughout the pile-driving process as well.

When aluminum for the windows, curtain wall and storefront of the new addition was delayed 8-10 weeks at the manufacturer’s facility in Atlanta, the team developed a two-part solution. First, crews temporarily sealed each building across 160 openings while a subcontractor proactively sent trucks directly to the facility in Atlanta to secure the material and bring it back to the jobsite.

Tying into the existing building during the renovation process required raising and leveling the floors, as well as close collaboration with the architect to determine how deep to demolish the existing floors from the surface to avoid penetrating the historic floor joists.