CLIENT: SAINT PAUL’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL | LOCATION: COVINGTON, LA
Trevor Watkins Advisor to the President Saint Paul’s Catholic School
“A defining factor in this project was schedule management. As an active school, it was essential that construction activities align with the academic calendar. Greenleaf demonstrated a strong understanding of these operational needs, strategically advancing the work during the summer months so that students could return to a completed and functional facility at the start of the school year. Their flexibility, planning, and sensitivity to end users ensured minimal disruption and a smooth transition.”
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Saint Paul's Catholic School worked with Greenleaf to renovate and expand one of the campus's most heavily used shared spaces. The dining hall needed to better support daily meal service while also functioning as a comfortable gathering place for students, faculty, staff, and campus activities.
The project renovated the existing dining environment and expanded the facility with additional space and a new outdoor seating area. Improvements refreshed the interior, provided greater capacity and flexibility, and extended student gathering opportunities outside of the building.
Completing that work on an active school campus required the construction strategy to be considered alongside the design from the beginning. Saint Paul's could not simply shut down normal campus activities for the duration of the renovation, so Greenleaf and the project team coordinated construction sequencing, access, temporary conditions, and disruptive work around the academic calendar.
Significant work was advanced during the summer, with construction continuing in phases through the first semester. School breaks and available construction windows were used where possible to reduce impacts on students and daily operations. The renovated and expanded dining hall was completed and placed into service at the beginning of the second semester.
The project gave Saint Paul's an updated dining facility, additional gathering space, and a stronger connection to outdoor campus areas while allowing the school to continue its normal academic operations throughout construction. The same attention given to the finished space was applied to how the project would actually be built within an occupied school.
