DonahueFavret Contractors, Inc.

10/15/2026

The Healthcare Design Conference and Expo, the largest annual gathering on healthcare planning, design, and construction, runs October 17 through 20 at the New Orleans Convention Center. This year's program leans hard into the work we do every day: resilient and rural healthcare, access to care in underserved coastal and bayou communities, and delivery methods that hold cost steady when funding is uncertain.

And our work will take center stage twice during the conference.

Lady of the Sea is a featured case study on the schedule, session E98, "Built to Remain: Hardening Rural Healthcare With Coastal High-rise Strategies," on Tuesday, October 20, presented by our design partners at WHLC Architecture and the hospital's leadership. They'll walk through how the original building failed in Ida and how the replacement was engineered to stand.

On Saturday, October 17, DFC and WHLC will be onsite at the Cancer Institute for a guided tour of this nationally award-winning facility.

10/14/2026

Project Spotlight: Thibodaux Regional Health System Critical Care Unit

When COVID-19 reached South Louisiana, Thibodaux Regional Health System needed more beds, and fast.

They came to us with 22,000 SF of empty shell space on the hospital’s third floor and a 50-day deadline to turn it into a 30-room patient unit.

To make that happen, we:
- Ran two shifts, seven days a week
- Kept multiple superintendents on site so the job was never unsupervised
- Prefabricated offsite to speed installation and limit crews inside an active hospital

Then, 30 days in, the plan changed. The hospital needed those treatment rooms to become Critical Care Unit rooms.

The rooms were already closed in and the ceiling grid was up. Our crews took down ceilings and headwalls so med gas lines could be upsized and more med gas and power added. The deadline moved to 80 days.

On top of that, the new unit had to tie into the area where COVID-19 patients were already being treated. Our ICRA-certified team worked hand in hand with the hospital on a plan to protect patients and caregivers throughout the work.

We reached substantial completion in 76 days, four days ahead of the revised schedule.

10/13/2026

October is Careers in Construction Month, and this week’s Behind the Build features Project Manager Stephen Couret.

Stephen didn’t start out running projects. He started as an assistant superintendent and learned the business one job at a time. Each step taught him something about how a building actually comes together, and that experience shows up every day in how he works with owners, architects, and trade partners.

10/09/2026

Twenty days to go. Two teams are available and we want you to join us!

The DFC Driving FORE Charity Golf Tournament is back on Thursday, October 29 at Tchefuncta Country Club. Over the past six years, this tournament has raised $346,500 for 41 local nonprofits, and we’d love for you to be part of year six.

Lunch on the course, contests all day, and Lucky Dogs at the finish line.

Grab your spot: DFC2026.givesmart.com

10/07/2026

Resiliency in healthcare is now non-negotiable, especially along the Gulf Coast where focusing on resilient design and construction is how hospital facilities keep the doors open. Hospitals are increasingly expected to remain operational during major storm events, not simply reopen afterwards. In our most recent case study, we shed light on how the community of Cut Off, LA got its hospital back years after disaster. Resilience drove every decision – from preconstruction through operations – in the building of Lady of the Sea’s new replacement hospital.

You can see the full case study here: https://donahuefavret.com/projects/lady-of-the-sea

10/06/2026

In 2014, our team built 3900 Howard Avenue as the headquarters for the Pontchartrain Housing Corporation. About a decade later, we got the call to turn it into something completely different: a working television station.

Thank you to Biz New Orleans for featuring the new Fox 8 WVUE-TV broadcast headquarters, and to Mikel Schaefer and the Gray Media team for trusting us with this project.

Transforming a four-story office building into a 37,000 SF broadcast facility with two studios, two control rooms, fully digital infrastructure, and a newsroom that Buzz Leffelman of Partners by Design calls the crown jewel of the project, took heavy coordination. It also meant dealing with a building that sits next to I-10 and a large on-site generator, in a place where outside noise can't reach a live mic. The LED signage facing the Pontchartrain Expressway took mockups, tight coordination and a lot of people pulling in the same direction to hit the schedule.

Having built the original structure gave us a head start. We knew this building before we ever opened a wall.

Hats off to every trade partner who worked on site. Next time you're coming into the city on I-10, look up at the fourth floor.

Read the full story:

In December 2023, what is now known as Fox 8 WVUE-TV announced it was ready to make a move with the acquisition of 3900 Howard Avenue. which previously served

10/06/2026

Not every construction career starts on a jobsite.

Before Terry became a project manager at DonahueFavret, she worked on the architect's side of the table. That background shows up every day, in how RFIs get answered, how submittals move, and how problems get solved. And as Terry put it, in construction you can drive past a building and know you helped put it there. That never gets old.

October is Careers in Construction Month, and Terry's path is a good reminder that this industry needs people from all kinds of backgrounds.

10/05/2026

Take a look at the progress on the LSU Library Infrastructure Project. Our Womack-Donahue JV team has been busy getting the ground ready for what comes next on campus.

The work to extend Field House Drive to connect with S. Quad Drive is still underway, while critical underground utility work progresses at key locations across the site. Several existing buildings have been abated and demolished, with additional demo on site scheduled to take place soon. All of this work sets the stage for a site that will eventually hold the new 200,000 SF LSU Library and Learning Commons. Stay tuned for further updates as we make progress.

10/02/2026

Our new quarterly newsletter is out. In it we discuss what's changed in healthcare design and construction in the last four years since we first looked at trends in the industry. Renovations are on the rise and particular emphasis is being placed on resiliency.

Email from DonahueFavret Contractors, Inc. Trends Shaping Healthcare Construction in the Gulf South Healthcare construction is more centered around renovations, and resiliency has become a driving fac

10/02/2026

Progress is moving right along at St. Luke's! Our crew has been hard at work, and it's been a real privilege watching this new church take shape for the parish family. We're grateful to be part of a project that means so much to this community, and we can't wait to share more as it comes together.