St. Joseph’s Catholic School, UKnight Addition

As St. Joseph’s Catholic School focused on growing their enrollment, they also began implementing some of the reprogramming strategies outlined in a 2016 master plan created by McMillan Pazdan Smith. One of the first projects executed by the design team presented a unique design challenge in both scope and execution. Designed to bring together the academic and athletic portions of the school’s campus, the UKnight Addition set the tone for a new architectural vision for future improvements.

The 18,000 SF addition occupies a small gap between two existing buildings. In addition to bridging the aesthetic differences between the two facilities, there were technical challenges as well — one building was a former manufacturing plant and thus still very structurally sound. Working closely with deans, administrators, coaches, and teachers, the team was able to successfully connect the older academic building to the newer pre-engineered gymnasium. The addition includes new locker rooms, offices for the Athletic Director and coaching staff, additional classrooms on the second floor, and two new science labs on the third floor.

As a result of the project’s success, school leadership plans to continue investing in future phases of the master plan and additional reprogramming of existing spaces. This is the third project that McMillan Pazdan Smith has completed on campus since 2016.