Planned St. Joseph’s Hall Enhancements Receive Final Approval from City
The school’s designs for an upgraded St. Joseph’s Hall received final approval from the District, bringing these exciting plans one step closer to fruition. Once completed, the enhancements will greatly expand opportunities on campus.
Our plans include construction of Berchmans Hall, a new, two-story wing on the north end of St. Joe’s. The addition will honor our visionary leader Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan ’48 & ’50, while opening doors for tomorrow’s leaders and innovators. It will feature up to eight flexible new classrooms that can be reconfigured for an array of lessons and projects, and its state-of-the-art new science labs and expansive, light-filled art studio will enrich our STEAM offerings (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math).
Berchmans Hall has been an integral part of our St. Joe’s enhancement plans since the start of our capital campaign, “A Cherished Past, A Vibrant Future,” in 2013. But our vision has also expanded over time to better respond to emerging needs and community input. In visioning sessions with faculty and staff last year, the lack of communal space in the current St. Joe’s surfaced as a shared concern. The school and architects worked hard to address this issue. Now, in addition to Berchmans Hall, Visitation will also build the “Saints Connector,” which will link St. Joe’s and the St. Bernard Library. The glass-enclosed structure will serve as the new entrance to and heart of our upper campus area. Inside are a “learning commons” for student study, teacher meetings, and socializing, and a “maker space” for hands-on projects and problem-solving.
Together, these two construction projects will allow us to realize the benefits of a fully integrated facility “up the hill” and will significantly enhance educational opportunities.
Visitation is now creating a construction timeline and finalizing interior specifications of the new spaces with input from faculty and staff. We look forward to sharing more updates with our community in coming months.
You can view a VIRTUAL TOUR of the “new St. Joe’s” here.