Research expansion planned at former Sears property

Special to 318 Forum

In response to continued growth in externally funded research over the last several years, LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) announced on Sept. 13 its plans to reimagine the former Sears property located at Mall St. Vincent as a state-of-the-art research facility focusing on cancer and cardiovascular research. This non-traditional approach to addressing a pending shortage of research space was achieved through support of the LSU Health Sciences Foundation, which purchased the property that will be leased back to LSU Health Shreveport. The new LSUHS Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Facility is anticipated to open in late 2026 or early 2027 and will elevate awareness and the stature of research at the institution.

The focal areas of research, as evidenced in the project name, will be cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences and the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center at LSUHS are already recognized as research Centers of Excellence by the Louisiana Board of Regents. This strength is in large part to the generosity of local brothers, the late Malcolm and Carroll Feist, who bequeathed virtually the entirety of their estates, valued at more than $100 million, to LSU Health Shreveport for medical research. Malcolm, a local attorney, died in 1985, designating his gift for cardiovascular research with his brother, Carroll, designated his portion of the estate to cancer research upon his death in 2005. Caroll had already been a generous donor prior to his death, making the construction of the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center possible. Feist and Weiller reflect the surnames of the brothers’ maternal and paternal families.

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 need for more research space was based on projections of new grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 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 research expansion announcement is occurring exactly 30 years after the opening of the Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) in 1994. The BRI, owned by BRF — Building Our Region’s Future — leases to LSU Health Shreveport 56 state-of-the-art research laboratories connected to the LSUHS School of Medicine in Shreveport on a 1.23-acre tract of land owned by the state of Louisiana. According to the LSU Health Shreveport archives, the 10-story, 160,000-square-foot Biomedical Research Institute was made possible largely due to the project’s most vocal and visible proponent, Virginia K. Shehee, then president of the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana. A rededication ceremony on Oct. 23, 1996, celebrated the Institute’s new name: Virginia K. Shehee Biomedical Research Institute.

Kevin Flood, president and CEO, LSU Health Sciences Foundation; David Guzick, MD, PhD, chancellor, LSU Health Shreveport; Tom Arceneaux, mayor, city of Shreveport; and Oren Rom, RT, PhD, associate dean for basic and translational research, LSU Health Shreveport

The former Sears building is ideal with its wide-open spaces, which are conducive to easily adapting to today’s open, modern research space, designed to cost-effectively flex in size and scope. 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 levels to St. Vincent Mall 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 comprises 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, making it an opportunity to consider adding clinical operations by Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, whose primary campuses are 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 to 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 of 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 Sears building’s wide-open spaces are adaptable to LSUHS’ new research building.

The former Sears, Roebuck and Co. building at Mall St. Vincent will soon have a new purpose.

The LSU Health Sciences Foundation in Shreveport will lead a fundraising campaign to secure financial support for the project. “Thanks to the past generosity of the community, the Foundation was poised to purchase the Sears property, allowing LSUHS to achieve its goal of ‘aiming high,’” said Kevin Flood, president and CEO of the LSU Health Sciences Foundation. “We look forward to collaborating with the community as we identify meaningful opportunities for support of this new research space supporting LSUHS’ worldclass researchers.”

The plans for research expansion at LSU Health Shreveport follow the December 2023 public unveiling of the $79 million Center for Medical Education. This new facility reflects a contemporary learning environment while providing the specific spaces required to deliver a modern, interactive medical education.

If you are interested in financially investing in the bright future of LSU Health Shreveport, please call the LSUHS Foundation at 861-0855 or email kflood@lsuhsfoundation.org. The LSUHS Cancer and Cardiovascular Research facility is anticipated to open in late 2026 or early 2027.