In 2013, Bishop O’Connell undertook a comprehensive study to develop a master plan to align the physical facilities with the school’s mission-driven strategic plan. The project evolved from the need to address functional, organization and space deficiencies of a school that was originally designed more than 60 years ago in the co-institutional model of single-sex classrooms. Boys and girls entered the school through separate entrances that faced Trinidad and Underwood Streets. The “boys side” and “girls side” shared a central courtyard, cafeteria, and library that connected the two halves.
With the help of Maginniss + del Ninno Architects, an eight-phase Master Site Plan was developed to guide the process of modernizing the school’s facilities. The plan provides a sequenced phased approach to addressing the evolving space requirements of curricula and the need for flexible learning and teaching spaces that meet today's educational landscape.
The glass has been installed at the new front entrance of the school. On the right you can begin to see the cross that is integrated into the design of the glass.
The glass and sun shades have been installed along the new central corridor of the school. The inside is being prepped for a new terrazzo floor.
A door has been added from the cafeteria to open directly into the courtyard.
The foundation for the new chapel and academic wing is taking shape along the Trinidad Street side of campus.
The foot traffic pattern taking students from one side of the building to the other transitioned over the Thanksgiving break. The first floor "tunnel" has been removed, and is replaced by a lovely second floor passageway. This transition allows the construction team to work on what will become the nice large and open main entrance and lobby area. Mechanical and flooring work is in the works!
The new front entrance wall is being framed out with metal studs going three stories high.
Out front the stone walls are completed, capped and covered to protect them when the concrete plaza surface is poured. The amphitheater seating is in and waiting for handrails.
The foundation/base is in place for the Holy Family statue to return to its central location in the plaza.
The bio-pond is being prepped with special geotextile and filter material before it gets its last layers of soil. Once completed, this area will collect run-off, but look like just another green area.
The foundation area has been dug for the chapel and new wing, and the rebar is on site. We should be seeing footers getting framed out soon.
The stone work in the front plaza is nearing completion. It beautifully matches the walls of our original building, and will tie in with our future chapel facade.
The junior lot near the corner of Little Falls Road and Underwood Street has a new exit that directs cars into the main driveway near the new plaza. This exit allows us to make this parking lot one-way. This week the lot was restriped with angled spots, making it easier to navigate and less likely to have fender benders among our new drivers. Crosswalks on the main driveway are next.
The metal frames for the glass that will make up the walls of the new main corridor are going up.
The first floor of the new main corridor is looking more like a hallway. Prep work for HVAC can be seen.
Window frames for the new main corridor are staged in the courtyard. The plywood is protecting the new courtyard surface.
Out front, most of the retaining walls have been faced with stone, and the part that is not faced, nearest to Little Falls Road, will be a tiered seating area wrapping all the way to the end. Part of the seating area will be covered with a pergola to provide some shade and definition. The Holy Family statue, which stood in front of the flagpole before construction began, will be re-installed at the end of the wall.
The front plaza will be concrete with brick inlays and have two pedestrian exits with crosswalks across the drop off lanes to lead to the new main entrance. Between the plaza and the handicapped parking will be a level and lightly landscaped area that disguises a run-off retention system. Underneath the surface will be filter material to make sure rainwater run-off does no damage to the cleanliness of the Potomac watershed. The front plaza will be concrete with brick inlays and have two exits with crosswalks across the drop off lanes to the main entrance.
Parking
Small front lot near Underwood St. and Little Falls Road - We will be re-striping this lot with angled spaces only. Because of the newly created exit near the plaza, this lot will be one-way only and the new angled spaces will make the parking process easier.
Senior parking lot (closest to the baseball field) – There was a lot of digging in this area over the summer that included a required underground water retention system, as well as buried cables for the infrastructure of the new building. The surface has had initial repaving, and there will be temporary re-striping and added crosswalks to get us through the construction of the new academic building and chapel at the site of the former IHM convent.
Courtyard
Most of the concrete work has been completed inside the courtyard. There will be a new additional access point into the courtyard directly from the cafeteria. The new door for this will go in later this fall, along with a lot of landscaping in the new planting beds around the courtyard's perimeter. The steps into the courtyard from the cafeteria and the new first floor corridor will take shape next week. The statue of Our Lady of Grace will find her new home in the courtyard just a few feet from where she has been since 1957. Don't be confused by the plywood that currently covers much of the surface of the courtyard; it is there to protect the concrete as the rest of the project catches up. When completed, the courtyard will have ten new picnic tables ready for senior lunches and social gatherings.
New Connecting Corridors
The concrete floor for the second level of the new connecting corridor that runs across the courtyard was poured this week. The first floor will be poured at the end of next week. Once the second floor corridor between the center hall and the Trinidad St. wing is far enough along, the construction company will move the temporary connecting tunnel from the first floor to the second, and will finish work on the first floor corridor. In the next week or two, we should also start seeing frames for glass walls going up on the front of the building and the first and second floor of the new courtyard corridor.
Infrastructure Work Inside Trinidad Street Wing
Inside the ground floor of the Trinidad wing, all the infrastructure work for the sprinkler system for the new and old parts of the building are being installed. Eventually all those pipes in the ceiling will disappear above a new suspended ceiling.
Phase 2 – New Academic Wing and Chapel – Coming Out of the Ground
Construction work for the new academic wing and chapel will begin with excavation for the building’s basement. This will commence once the Phase 1 construction projects no longer require moving large equipment down the temporary road to the courtyard.
Safety and Compliance
The construction company, the architect and our O’Connell team are in regular contact with the Arlington County building and safety offices to ensure that we are in compliance or exceeding required codes.
The renovation of the courtyard is taking shape--ready for new steps, ramps and patio surface.
The new front plaza is graded and a new storm water system is in place. The footings for the new plaza walls are formed and ready for concrete.
A new storm water management system with more than 5,000 cubic feet of underground storage capacity has been competed, and the area is ready for repaving.
Underground electrical conduits are installed. These will connect to a new transformer and upgrade the electrical system for the entire school.
Varsity Boys Basketball Game vs. DeMatha Postponed
January 24 - Due to an unplanned water shut off at Bishop O'Connell today, the boys varsity basketball game vs. DeMatha has been postponed.
The coaches will work together to find a new date.
