(Source: City Business May 18, 2020)

The Academy of the Sacred Heart has completed a major renovation to its Mater Campus located at 4301 St. Charles Ave.

The project included a redesigned building entrance, including a new vestibule on General Pershing Street; a new courtyard space featuring tiered, grass-topped seating areas and water-retention capabilities; and a complete renovation of the Bob and Jeri Nims Fine Arts Center, which serves multiple functions as the central gathering location for the full school.

The construction process began last June as part of the school’s five-year strategic plan. The renovations offer ample space within which to conduct summer camp and school activities in accordance with national, state and local guidelines and enhanced technology to effectively support a variety of learning modalities, school officials said.

“These renovations were thoughtfully planned to fulfill the long-term goals of our strategic plan, to enhance the pedagogical environment in which we educate our students to become leaders of their time,” said Headmistress Sr. Melanie A. Guste, RSCJ. “In addition to fulfilling these goals, the timing of this project is extremely supportive to the immediate needs of our school community. With these spaces, we have even more capability and flexibility to configure activities on campus well within mandated occupancy and safety guidelines, and those plans are well underway. We are incredibly fortunate that the unique attributes of our campus and the ingenuity of our faculty and staff have enabled our readiness to re-open our gates.”

The 112,760-square-foot campus occupies a full block on St. Charles Avenue between Napoleon Avenue and General Pershing Street and features educational spaces tailored to the needs of students ranging from age one to grade four. The Rosary Campus, located two blocks away on St. Charles Avenue between Jena and Cadiz Streets, is home to the middle and upper school divisions.

Gould Evans was the architecture firm for the project, and DonahueFavret performed preconstruction and construction services.

The Mater Campus Complex renovation is one of several capital projects that are part of an ambitious master plan to develop innovative and state-of-the-art learning spaces on both campuses.

Photographs taken by Michael Palumbo.