Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission wants to revitalize the corridor between New Orleans and Causeway Blvd.  The Louisiana Urban Land Institute (ULI) gathered a panel of land-use experts to come up with the best plan for the corridor.  According to Jerry Bologna, JDECO’s executive director, this plan will be a “town center concept with world-class destination health care at its core.”

Ochsner Medical Center plans to build a five story physical rehabilitation hospital and an outpatient physical and occupational therapy clinic expanding the existing Ochsner Health System along the corridor.  The five story building is estimated to cost $56.3 million and the clinic estimated at $6 million.  This is part of the $360 million expansion plan that is set to take Oschner Health System three years to complete.

The new building will employ 180 therapists, nurses and other specialists and increase rehab beds from 28 to 60 and add an additional 15 pediatric specialty inpatient rehab beds.  The center will focus on rehabilitation for acute conditions such as spinal cord and brain injuries, stroke, amputation, neurological disorders and orthopedic conditions.

“We are going to have a rehab facility here that is unparalleled with any around the region,” Ochsner chief executive Warner Thomas said. “Just like the destination care we have in cancer, neurosciences, cardiology or transplant, we’ll be able to do the same thing in the rehabilitation area.”

The new development, which is slated to be completed by 2019, will be built on the eight acres of land that is currently the location of the abandoned Jefferson Plaza shopping center.  The site which is approximately one mile upriver from Ochsner’s main campus will also include medical offices, retail space and restuarants.  The health system applied to rezone the Jefferson Plaza property from C-2 general commercial to H-2 medical services so the corridor can be used as a medical plaza.

“We are committed to Jefferson Parish,” Thomas said. “We want to make sure that this is the place that people come from around the world for health care. If you think about the place between Houston and Atlanta that folks want to travel to if they need that high-end specialty care, we want them to come right here, to this corridor.”

The development will also bring to the table increased transportation options, more seamless transportation options, beautification efforts, more green space development and additional housing options.

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