Zach Kupperman buys Poydras Street medical buildings, spurred by new BioDistrict

Investor and real estate developer Zach Kupperman has acquired a medical office complex at 2237 Poydras Street on the edge of the Central Business District, with plans to redevelop the property for a new medical tenant that will move into the space later this year.

Terms of the sale, which closed in late December, were not disclosed. But Kupperman said his total investment in the vacant 21,000-square-foot building, which previously housed a clinic operated by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, will total several million dollars.

Kupperman said his decision to invest in the location was motivated in part by the recent passage of legislation that will fund a long-awaited BioDistrict in the area.

In October, the City Council approved the creation of a special taxing district comprising large swaths of downtown aimed at attracting companies in the biosciences sector. The legislation allows the district to take a share of new sales taxes raised within its borders.

Though Kupperman’s building is not included in the BioDistrict, the property sits on the edge of the district, which he said is close enough to capitalize on the demand for office space that will hopefully come with new health care-related businesses.  

“We think this will be a real catalyst for the area,” he said. “It’s a rising tide lifts all boats kind of thing. Knowing the area will realize a bunch of other investments, we felt like this was a good move for us.”

Growth areas

The building is the second health care-related acquisition in recent years for Kupperman, who is also a partner in several high-end boutique hotels. In 2020, he acquired 3601 Coliseum St., a specialty and behavioral health hospital near Touro.

Kupperman is not the only buyer investing in what used to be considered the edges of the CBD. In late December, the Archdiocese of New Orleans finalized the sale of its former office building at 1000 Howard Ave. to a group of Lafayette investors who own several short-term rental properties in Central City and downtown.

The group, led by businessman Samir Mohd, acquired the 12-story building, which includes an attached garage and adjacent parking lot, for $8.3 million.

The group plans to redevelop the site into a hybrid hotel-short-term rental complex, which is an increasingly popular use in that commercially zoned area, said commercial appraiser Parke McEnery with the McEnerny Group.

“1000 Howard and 2237 Poydras are both great examples of locating value in what, historically, have  been perceived as a fringe locations,” McEnery said. “They’re not fringe anymore. They’re centrally located and are attracting investors interested in hospitality and healthcare, our two main growth areas right now.”