{"id":1004747075,"date":"2025-02-17T04:57:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T12:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004747075"},"modified":"2025-05-04T23:15:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:15:46","slug":"historic-new-orleans-building-gets-new-life-as-coworking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/historic-new-orleans-building-gets-new-life-as-coworking\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic New Orleans Building Gets New Life as Coworking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1004747077\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/exterior-2-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La-edited.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1599,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Formwork Development&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Thanks to the investment, a historic primary school building originally built in 1911, only partially occupied by a German Cultural Museum for many years, is now home to a coworking facility, event event, and a ground floor retail space.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Exterior-2&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Exterior-2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Thanks to the investment, a historic primary school building originally built in 1911, only partially occupied by a German Cultural Museum for many years, is now home to a coworking facility, event event, and a ground floor retail space.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La-edited.jpg?w=1024\" height=\"768\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La-edited.jpg\" alt=\"Exterior shot of the 20,000-square-foot schoolhouse in Gretna, La., recently repurposed into a coworking space.\" class=\"wp-image-1004747077\" style=\"width:400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La-edited.jpg 1599w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La-edited.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La-edited.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La-edited.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/02\/Primary-Workspace-in-Gretna-La-edited.jpg?resize=1536,1153 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The 20,000-square-foot historic schoolhouse comprises both office and retail space. <em>Image courtesy of Formwork Development<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>As part of a private-public partnership, Formwork Development and Jefferson Facilities Inc. have opened Primary Workspace, a 13,000-square-foot coworking space in an historic schoolhouse. The building is in Gretna, La., across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. The 1911-built property stood vacant for more than 50 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Primary Workspace opened after extensive renovations, with a $3.5 million price tag. The City of Gretna contributed $2.7 million\u202fin American Rescue Plan Act funds, while the remaining $800,000 came from Louisiana State Historic Tax Credits.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-schoolhouse-turned-coworking\">Schoolhouse turned coworking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The 20,000-square-foot property at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/coworking-property\/us\/la\/gretna\/519-huey-p-long-avenue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">519 Huey P Long Ave.<\/a> also comprises office space, as well as 2,800 square feet of for-lease retail space. The German Cultural Museum was the only tenant that has remained operational while the rest of the property was vacant. Primary Workspace\u2019s amenities include a restored two-story auditorium, a boardroom and for-rent event space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Formwork Development led the project from the private sector side. Jefferson Facilities Inc., acting on behalf of Jefferson Parish and the city, was the public-sector partner. Studio BKA worked as architect and interior designer, alongside general contractor Perrier Esquerr\u00e9 Contractors. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The coworking industry has began adapting to a growing trend towards smaller, community-focused environments, reflecting the modern worker&#8217;s preference for adaptable and team-oriented spaces. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/coworking-industry-trends-to-keep-an-eye-on\/\">a recent 2025 outlook<\/a>, coworking space providers opened up about the essential role of flexible offices in the modern work culture, as well as what the sector needs to remain resilient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The century-old property stood almost fully vacant for half its life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3619,"featured_media":1004747077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52118,21782,1599,21742],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004747075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coworking","category-development","category-new-orleans","category-latest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v24.6) - 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