Large construction projects rarely begin on a blank canvas.
Existing infrastructure, aging utilities, occupied facilities, and complex site conditions can all create challenges long before the first foundation is poured. When these issues are discovered during construction, they can slow progress, disrupt operations, and introduce unexpected costs.
To address these challenges, owners often adopt a strategy that allows projects to begin earlier and move forward with greater certainty: enabling projects.
What is an enabling project?
An enabling project is a package of work completed ahead of the main building effort to prepare the project and resolve potential constraints.
This work may include demolition of existing structures, relocation of utilities, environmental remediation, or infrastructure improvements required before new construction can begin. In some cases, enabling work also establishes temporary access roads, staging areas, swing space, or utility systems needed to support the construction process.
A current example of this approach is underway at Louisiana State University, where our team is preparing the campus for the future Library and Learning Commons.
The enabling project includes extending Field House Drive to connect with South Quad Drive to improve campus circulation, installing new underground utilities to serve the future library site, and completing the abatement and demolition of six existing buildings.
These $11.4 million infrastructure improvements will prepare the site and surrounding campus systems so the new library facility can move forward efficiently and on time.
The role of Preconstruction planning
The most effective enabling strategies begin during preconstruction, when the project team studies site conditions, infrastructure, and operational considerations to determine how a project can move forward most efficiently.
This process often begins by working backward from the project’s required completion date. By understanding when a facility needs to open or when funding deadlines must be met, the team can map out the sequence of activities necessary to begin construction on time and maintain momentum throughout the project.
This planning process helps identify opportunities for enabling work that should occur earlier in the schedule. In some cases, that may include advancing demolition, relocating utilities, or completing site preparation before the full building design is finalized.
These scopes can often be delivered through early release packages, allowing critical work to begin while the remaining design continues to develop. In other situations, projects may be structured using a phased Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) approach. This allows the team to establish cost and schedule certainty for early phases of work while later portions of the project continue through design and refinement.
This strategy is currently being used on the Multipurpose Education Complex for Avoyelles Parish School Board, where our team is delivering the project through a phased CMAR process.
Because the project is funded through a state grant requiring funds to be spent within the year, the team implemented several phased GMP milestones with early release packages for demolition, civil work, building pad preparation, foundations, and structural steel.
By advancing these scopes strategically, the project team was able to maintain schedule momentum while the design continued to develop, ultimately delivering a final GMP that came in under the project’s $12 million budget.
Supporting projects within active facilities
Enabling strategies can also help organizations complete renovations within active facilities where maintaining operations is essential.
At Tulane University School of Medicine, the university planned renovations to the seventh floor of the Hutchinson Building. However, completing that work required temporarily relocating the students and faculty who occupied the space. To make the renovation possible, our team first renovated the fourth floor of the nearby Reily Pavilion to create a temporary swing space. Once that renovation was complete, students and faculty were relocated from the Hutchinson seventh floor into the newly prepared space.
With occupants safely relocated, the team was then able to proceed with renovations to the Hutchinson Building.
By creating this enabling phase early in the project, the university was able to maintain continuity for its academic programs while allowing construction to move forward efficiently.
Setting up projects for success
Construction projects frequently involve unknown site conditions, infrastructure constraints, or operational challenges that can introduce delays if they are discovered mid-project. Enabling projects help to address these issues early by allowing teams to investigate conditions, prepare the site, and establish logistics before the main construction effort begins.
Enabling projects are viewed as an important part of the broader preconstruction strategy. By identifying opportunities for early work and structuring projects through phased delivery methods, the team helps owners reduce uncertainty and move projects forward with greater confidence. When enabling work is planned thoughtfully, it does more than prepare the site. It creates a stronger starting point for the entire project.
Noteworthy Projects & Recent Completions
Lady of the Sea General Hospital
Our team recently completed the new replacement hospital for Lady of the Sea, who celebrated their official ribbon cutting in March. Located in Cut Off, LA, the existing hospital was devastated after Hurricane Ida, leaving the community without access to proper medical care. This significant CMAR project involved the construction of an 80,000-square-foot ground-up hospital that houses vital facilities such as the emergency department, inpatient unit, imaging services, cardiopulmonary, laboratories, pharmacy, a dining area, administration facilities, and a new power plant for reliable energy supply.
Tulane School of Medicine Hutchinson 5th Floor
The Tulane Hutchinson 5th Floor Renovation has been successfully completed as part of our continued work at Tulane University’s Downtown Campus. Following the completion of the Tulane Reily Pavilion 4th Floor renovation and in parallel with the Tulane Hutchinson 7th Floor Renovation, this project marked the third Tulane project delivered within just over 18 months. The renovation encompasses just under 6,000 square feet on the 5th Floor of the Hutchinson Building and focused primarily on laboratory and tissue culture spaces.
LSU Learning Commons
In collaboration with our JV Partner, Milton J. Womack, the Womack-Donahue team was selected to serve as the CMAR for this momentous project on LSU’s campus. The new nearly 200,000-square-foot state-of-the-art library will be centrally located on the campus, uniting the LSU community in ways and methods not possible in the current main library, serving as a bustling hub of classrooms, flexible event spaces, study spaces, collections, exhibit spaces, staff and partner spaces, and technologically-rich creative spaces. This $125 million project will undergo a lengthy preconstruction process with construction expected to begin in Q3 2026.
LSU Infrastructure Enabling Project
This infrastructure enabling project was designed to prepare the campus for its future library development. The scope includes extending Field House Drive to connect with S. Quad Drive, improving campus access and circulation. Work also involves the installation of new underground utilities serving the future library site, including chilled water, steam and condensate, sewer, water, and gas systems. In addition, the project includes abatement and demolition of six existing buildings and removal of underground utilities to prepare the site for a new $125 Million LSU Library & Learning Commons which we were also awarded.
LSU Health Sciences Center Dental School Renovations
DonahueFavret was selected by the Louisiana Department of Facility Planning & Control (FP&C) to serve as CMAR for the renovations to the LSU Dental School on the Health Sciences Center campus in New Orleans. The project includes renovations and modernization to the existing 241,000 sq ft eight-story Clinic Building and the 97,000 sq ft four-story Administration Building. Our team has begun the Preconstruction process and looks forward to beginning construction in the spring of 2026.
Nicholls State University Nursing School
DonahueFavret was selected as the CMAR contractor for this new ground-up facility for the Nicholls State University Nursing Program. When complete, this new facility will be a free-standing multi-story building adjacent to the existing nursing college building, Ayo Hall. It will provide classrooms, lecture space, office space for faculty and support staff, and space for technical, laboratory, and clinical training, and complement functions of Ayo Hall. The building is currently dried in and our team has begun the interior buildout phase of the project.
Tulane School of Medicine Nursing School
Our team is nearing completion of the renovations to Tulane University's nursing school, located on the 4th floor of the Medical Center Building. When complete, the space will include classrooms and clinical lab space, supported by common areas for study, reception, and a student hub area. The project is on schedule for completion this spring 2026.
Avoyelles Parish School Board Multipurpose Education Complex
This project includes the expansion and modernization of the Cecil J. Picard Education & Recreational Center with the goal of transforming it into a multipurpose educational complex. The facility will focus on education, vocational training, and community engagement. This fast-tracked CMAR project will make use of federal grant funding, with multiple GMP milestones to deliver it quickly. It will include a 17,000 SF classroom and training space dedicated to technical educational and skills certification programs, as well as a new 20,000 multipurpose space suitable for hosting livestock shows and other community events. Renovations include upgrading the existing 14,000 SF building to include classrooms, administrative offices, and community assembly space.
St. Luke's Episcopal Church
DFC is honored to serve as the general contractor for the rebuild of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church following the devastating fire that affected this cherished community space. Our team recently began erecting steel onsite and is working closely with church leadership to bring their vision for renewal to life. This rebuild holds deep importance for the congregation and the broader community, and we are committed to restoring a place that has long provided connection, support, and faith.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana, Covington Unit
The new construction of the Boys & Girls Club in Covington will provide a modern, welcoming facility designed to support learning, recreation, and community engagement. The 8,500-square-foot building will deliver new classroom spaces, a full gymnasium, a café, and dedicated gaming areas, creating a dynamic environment for youth development.
Designed with flexibility and functionality in mind, the facility will accommodate a wide range of educational programs, athletic activities, and social spaces. The new classrooms will support academic enrichment, while the gym and gaming areas will encourage physical activity and teamwork. The café will serve as a central gathering space, fostering connection and daily interaction among members.
PETNET Solutions Medical Lab
Our team is nearing completion of this new 10,000-square-foot PETNET Solutions medical facility, marking an exciting step forward in the advancement of medical technology and healthcare innovation. This state-of-the-art facility is designed to support the production and distribution of critical radiopharmaceuticals used in diagnostic imaging and treatment. Key features of the project include two (2) cyclotrons, highly specialized particle accelerators widely used in nuclear medicine to produce essential radioisotopes. In addition to the cyclotron suite, the facility will house a fully equipped pharmacy, a manufacturing department, and all necessary back-of-house support areas to ensure streamlined and compliant operations.
CommCare Stassi
We're nearing completion of this latest assisted living facility for CommCare Corporation. The John A. Stassi CommCare Center, located onsite of the former Louisiana Technical College in Metairie, marks our eighth facility for CommCare. These wood-framed structures, ranging from 50,000 to 100,000-square-feet, are designed around a centralized community hub that then branches off into separate wings each with residential pods. We look forward to wrapping up another successful facility for this long-time repeat client.
St. Tammany Health Parking Garage
This project for St. Tammany Parish Hospital includes the construction of a new five-level precast parking garage with a rooftop helipad and an integrated 8,400-square-foot medical office buildout for Northlake Surgical associates on the St. Tammany Health System campus. The scope also features two elevator/stair towers connected by a skybridge spanning 11th Avenue, along with major utility infrastructure upgrades, emergency power systems, and extensive site demolition and roadway improvements. Complex logistics, including overnight erection of the skybridge truss and coordination within an active hospital campus, were critical to successful delivery.
Awards & Recognition
DonahueFavret has once again been recognized by Associated Builders and Contractors at the national level for our excellence in construction.
Excellence in Construction Awards were presented during the ABC Convention in Salt Lake City. The EIC Awards celebrate 86 of the nation’s top construction projects from 2025, including school relocations; convention center, courthouse and beach resort renovations; and the construction of science parks, apartments and hospitals, as well as honoring contractors for their remarkable achievements in leadership, health and safety, innovation and merit.
Slidell Memorial Hospital Addition & Renovation earned a national Excellence in Construction Eagle Award. When Slidell Memorial Hospital and Ochsner Health set out to expand and modernize their campus, the project was ambitious, and the goal was clear. The new state-of -the-art 61,000-square-foot Phase 1 addition and subsequent 13,000-square-foot Phase 2 renovation of the existing facility had to be executed within an active regional hospital without interrupting critical, life-saving services.
WVUE Fox8 Studio Buildout earned a national Excellence in Construction Pyramid Award. The former headquarters of Pontchartrain Housing Corporation has been transformed into a redesigned 37,000-square-foot studio and office space for WVUE Fox8 News. The first floor is a state-of-the-art newsroom and two new studio areas dedicated to breaking news, investigative reporting, and sports. The second, third, and fourth floors were refurbished, with the installation of new flooring and carpet, and the removal of select partition walls to create more spacious office areas. Externally, a new steel structure supports six ground-level satellites and provide ten covered parking spaces.
Upcoming Events
Our team is gearing up once again for its third annual Safety Day scheduled for this spring. Superintendents and project managers will gather for a variety of continuing education sessions centered around first aid, field safety, and overall health & well-being.