The Academy
Adaptive Reuse of the historic St. Louis Cathedral Academy Parochial School and Convent into modern French Quarter residences.
Category
Adaptive Reuse, Mixed-Use Multi-Family
Location
New Orleans, LA
Size
22,000 SF
Year
2019
This 1949 historic structure stood as the former St. Louis Cathedral Academy Parochial School and Convent until its adaptive reuse and rehabilitation into multi-family residences. The project was broken into three phases; 22 apartments were created in the existing building and 5 units were added in two newly constructed buildings.
Critical historic elements were rehabilitated and incorporated into the design, including the historic doors, transoms, and glazed block walls within the school building along with corridors and historic doors within the convent. A chapel located within the building was adapted into a one-bedroom apartment with historic stained glass and custom woodworking fully restored.
Phase two of construction included a single rooftop/penthouse apartment that was added atop the convent wing of the building. New amenities such as central HVAC, elevator, gym, and access control systems helped to bring this historic structure to modern standards. Phase three is a new building consisting of four townhouse units located on the existing parking lot. Each unit includes a two car garage and balcony.