- Project description: The New Orleans School Facilities Master Plan is the largest school recovery project in the nation’s history to refurbish, renovate and/or construct new schools following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
- Cost: $2 billion
- Start date: 2008
- Expected completion date: Early 2023
- Owner/developer: Louisiana Recovery School District, Orleans Parish School Board
- Program manager: Jacobs Engineering/CSRS Program Management
- Construction teams: Various
CITY BUSINESS – By a projected date of early 2023, all 45,000 students at New Orleans Public Schools will be educated in a new, renovated or refurbished facility. It would mark the end of a 15-year, $2 billion New Orleans School Facilities Master Plan that began in 2008 – the largest school recovery project in the nation’s history to renovate and/or construct new schools following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
But first, 2022 needs to be on the kinder side to the school system. 2021 marked a relentless year of juggling the COVID-19 pandemic forcing back and forth in-person to virtual learning, a disruptive Hurricane Ida in the fall, combined with the nationwide trends of labor challenges, supply chain issues and market inflation.
“Supply chain, market inflation and labor challenges have increased the cost of change orders and there have been delays for the materials needed to complete our projects. Overall, the impact has been adjusted completion timelines for some projects and cost increases of recent change orders of 10% to 30%,” said Tiffany Delcour, chief operations officer for NOLA Public Schools. “We continue to work through struggles with supply chain and labor to complete our projects on time and on budget.”
Early last year saw the completion of the $27.5 million New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School, located at 2011 Bienville St. Designed by Verges Rome Architects and built by general contractor McDonnel Group, the high school includes a robotics lab, maker space, graphics lab and health science lab to support STEM programs.
There are five masterplan projects scheduled to for completion in 2022: Rosenwald Collegiate Academies renovation (May), Frederick Douglass High School auditorium renovation (June), McMain High School auditorium renovation (August), Walter L. Cohen College Prep new construction (October) and Rose Mary Loving Elementary School renovation (December). The last project, the renovation of Dr. Alice R. Geoffray High School, is projected to be complete by February 2023, said Delcour.
Rosenwald Collegiate Academies occupies the William Fischer Elementary School facility next door and will move into the building in June 2022. Most recently, Rosenwald’s chiller and west ramp were installed, and the interior windows of the offices and media center were complete. The roofing cap is being installed. The $14.5 million project was awarded to Gibbs Construction. The program manager is a joint venture of CBRE Heery, Inc. and Vanir Construction Management.
Waggoner & Ball (architects) and Landis Construction (general contractor) are leading the $35.7 million renovations at Rose Mary Loving Elementary School, formerly Martin Behrman on General Meyer Avenue. The renovation of the historic main school building will enhance the classrooms, science labs, library and 604-seat auditorium. The new early learning center will provide four kindergarten and four pre-kindergarten classrooms. The new gymnasium will provide locker rooms, offices, concessions, and storage, as well as almost 400 bleacher seats.
“This facility will receive a historic renovation to increase the quality of the overall facility that respects the rich history of the facility and the neighborhood in which it resides,” Delcour said. “This project will also expand access to high quality early childhood education programing.”
The new construction, $31.3 million Walter L. Cohen College Prep, located at 3520 Dryades St., is led by Grace Hebert Curtis (architect) and Lemoine Company (general contractor). At 105,000 square feet and three stories high, the school will include updated academic classrooms, science labs as well as visual, music, and performing arts classrooms. The new auditorium will have seating for 250, and the gymnasium will seat 450. Construction is projected for October 2022 completion with a school move-in date of December 2022.
“Most recently, the new gymnasium slab has been poured and the exterior and interior framing of the facility is underway,” Delcour said. “This new construction project will provide a high-quality facility to one of our oldest high schools in our city located in the heart of uptown.”
The $27 million renovation of Dr. Alice R. Geoffray High School, a career technical education high school at 1331 Kerlerec St., will provide modern labs and workspaces that accommodate and grow the New Orleans Career Center’s career paths programs. The renovation is projected to be complete in February 2023, with a school move-in date of April 2023. The facility will also give a new space for the New Orleans Career Center. SCNZ Architects and Broadmoor LLC will partner on the project.
“The facility will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and ADAAG (Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines) compliant,” Delcour said. “Learning labs will grow and enhance NOCC’s mission and include spaces for students to have hands-on learning in carpentry, electrical work, welding, computer aided design (CAD), nurse/patient simulation, emergency medical tech and response, culinary arts, dining and programming/coding.”
