127 Elk Place, completed in 1917 to house Elk Lodge #30, is one of the finest neoclassical Beaux Arts structures in existence within the Lower Central Business District National Register Historic District. Though the building’s interior has received repeated renovation at the hands of its subsequent owners, including Gulf Oil, the Institute of Mental Hygiene and, from November 2001, Tulane University, 127 Elk’s beautiful exterior has remained almost completely unaltered from its original appearance, documenting the robust participation of early-20th century New Orleanians in the nationally-significant Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks.
When Tulane University decided to relocate its School of Social Work – itself an institution of longstanding prominence – from its Uptown New Orleans campus to downtown New Orleans, they again turned to Crescent Growth Capital to handle the historic tax credits. CGC was hired to supervise the state historic tax credit application and monetization process for 127 Elk Place’s $4.5 million conversion into the new home for the Tulane School of Social Work.
CGC authored all the historic preservation certification applications for the project, translating the design of project architect Eskew+Dumez+Ripple into an easily-comprehensible narrative, resulting in – once again – no conditions attached to the Part 2 approval issued by the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation.
Subsequent to CGC’s receipt of Part 3 approval on behalf of its client, CGC steered the project through the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s exacting review process. Over $4 million was classed as Qualified Rehabilitation Expenses, with CGC marketing the resulting credits, generating nearly $1 million in sale proceeds for Tulane University.
