Concordia was the lead partner of a major multi-disciplinary team that was selected by the State of Louisiana Department of Education to develop a Master Plan for the redevelopment of the public school facilities in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The scope of work included assessing existing buildings and sites, analyzing program and design standards, and providing recommendations on the renovation or rebuilding of public school facilities in Orleans Parish.
The master planning team also delineated long term plans and implementation schedules for all school facilities to assist the Louisiana Recovery School District and Orleans Parish School Board. Concordia developed standards for educational suitability by school type, conducted facilities condition and cost assessments, and provided a life cycle and capital renewal forecast to provide a basis for maintenance and operations planning. The project also incorporated the recommendations of previous planning processes and the input of the New Orleans citizens.
Concordia also facilitated the community engagement portion of the process, which included neighborhood and citywide meetings and workshops, and coordinated the outreach effort through traditional media, grassroots outreach, digital media, and social networking. Over 2,500 New Orleans citizens participated in the creation of the Schools Master Plan, which was completed in September 2008 and is currently being implemented.
