Integrating Housing With Health Care in New Orleans, Louisiana

Integrating Housing With Health Care in New Orleans, Louisiana

H3C is a 192-unit affordable housing development in New Orleans built in 2024 by Gulf Coast Housing Partnership (GCHP) and Aetna. Recognizing the interrelationship between housing and healthcare needs in the Gulf Coast, GCHP is partnering with healthcare payors to develop affordable housing with integrated healthcare services. Photo credit: Staci Brimer

In New Orleans, H3C Apartments offers 192 units and a large community clinic in a development that combines affordable housing with improved access to health care. Developed in 2024 by Gulf Coast Housing Partnership (GCHP) and Alembic Community Development in partnership with Aetna, H3C is part of GCHPs "Health + Housing" series of pilot projects. By integrating health services with affordable housing development and tracking residents' health outcomes over time, GCHP and its partners hope to demonstrate that housing is a social determinant of health.

A Model for Integrating Health and Housing

GCHP is a nonprofit affordable housing developer targeting underserved Gulf Coast communities in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. In addition to having a shortage of affordable housing, these states have some of the nation's greatest healthcare needs. Kathy Laborde, president and chief executive officer at GCHP, explained that the company has long been looking for additional funding sources for affordable housing projects, noting the region's economic challenges as well as its limited public and philanthropic support.

The development includes a Federally Qualified Health Center operated by DePaul Community Health Centers that serves residents and the community. The clinic offers primary care services, behavioral health care, a pharmacy, and lab services. Photo credit: Staci Brimer

Recognizing that many residents in this area have high levels of healthcare needs and costs, GCHP identified healthcare payors as potential sources of financing. GCHP focused on managed care organizations (MCOs), noting that many residents of the communities the company serves were also Medicaid participants. GCHP envisioned collaborating with healthcare payors on affordable housing developments that integrate healthcare services. GCHP and its partners will track residents' health outcomes to better understand the extent to which permanent stable housing with support services can improve their health and well-being. "We knew that some MCOs were already investing in affordable housing, but it was often a one-off transaction," Laborde said. "We had an idea that through a joint Health + Housing initiative, we could provide healthcare payors with the data that show investing in affordable housing not only strengthens communities but also yields financial results." With support from existing partners and the healthcare industry, GCHP's Health + Housing initiative introduces new financing sources to affordable housing development through the MCOs and unlocks existing financing sources, such as 4 percent low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs), that might be underutilized because of a lack of other gap funding sources. In 2020, GCHP's Health + Housing pilot won a $2.5 million Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge Award from Enterprise Community Partners and Wells Fargo.

A Pilot Project in New Orleans

With the help of the 2020 award, GCHP embarked on its first two Health + Housing pilot projects: one in Jackson, Mississippi, and one in New Orleans, Louisiana. GCHP built H3C, the larger of the two projects, on a vacant parcel in New Orleans' Central City neighborhood, just southwest of downtown. The site, purchased in 2018, had been a parking lot for a creamery. Partnering with Alembic Community Development and Aetna, an MCO owned by CVS Health, GCHP began construction of H3C in 2022. In addition to more than $26 million from Aetna, the $80 million development received $1 million in LIHTC equity, $5 million in community development block grant funds, $16.7 million through multifamily revenue bonds from the Louisiana Housing Corporation, and funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank and private foundations. H3C opened in January 2024.

The Apartments

H3C consists of two 5-story buildings connected on the lower level. One building is reserved for seniors over age 55 and has 92 one- and two-bedroom units. The other has 100 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and is intended for families. All the apartments serve households earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income, and some are supported with project-based vouchers. The units have washers and dryers and ENERGY STAR^® appliances. Common amenities include a community room, fitness center, courtyard, and rooftop terrace.

Located near downtown New Orleans, H3C is within walking distance of grocery stores, banks, pharmacies, parks, and schools. Residents also are near several major employers as well as colleges, medical institutions, and afterschool programs. The property is on a bus route and is three blocks from the St. Charles Streetcar Line.

Integrating Health Care

H3C's one-, two-, and three-bedroom units serve families and seniors. All the apartments serve households earning less than 60 percent of the area median income. Photo credit: Staci Brimer

DePaul Community Health Centers operates an onsite Federally Qualified Health Center. The clinic offers primary and preventative health care, including behavioral health services, obstetrics and gynecology, and prenatal care. The facility also has a pharmacy and laboratories. DePaul employs community healthcare workers to help familiarize residents with the clinic's services. One service partner, Belle Reve, provides fitness classes, financial literacy training, walking clubs, book clubs, and other social activities.

Consistent with the goal of supporting a healthy living environment, H3C was the first development in the state to achieve Fitwel certification, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created to recognize buildings that promote residents' health and wellness. Several factors contributed to this certification, including access to a common outdoor space, bicycle parking, smoke- and tobacco-free signage, and proximity to public transit.

Moving Forward

The Louisiana Public Health Institute is collecting data to monitor changes in residents' health after moving into H3C. In addition to health outcomes and healthcare costs relative to the general population, the team monitors levels of social isolation and overall satisfaction and quality-of-life outcomes. Laborde explained that, although housing is widely recognized as a social determinant of health, having more quantified data will be key to scaling this cofunding model for developers and healthcare payors. GCHP's second Health + Housing project, The Pearl, opened in Jackson, Mississippi, in August 2024. The 76-unit senior housing development also includes an onsite clinic.