A finished concrete slab foundation has marked a milestone moment for the St Luke’s Anglican School’s Performance Centre stage 1 development this week.
This slab not only sets the foundation for all other structural stages to commence, but also visually maps out just how large and impressive the new two-story, 1900sq/m Performance Centre will be upon its expected completion at the end of this year.
The new Performance Centre will include an indoor court, performance stage with state-of-the-art audio-visual and lighting equipment, an additional classroom, and with 1000 seats, will become the centre point for all St Luke’s formal gatherings, sporting, and non-sporting events.
St Luke’s Business Manager, David Reed said he was thrilled with the result.
“It is so pleasing to see the building start to rise out of the ground. Watching the development day-by-day, an immense amount of work has now been completed, and more than just what’s seen at the surface,” he said.
“For example, new stormwater pipes have been laid, bored piers were drilled to a depth of 1.9m, and electricity has been supplied to the site.
“And it’s been challenging, with Bundaberg experiencing the wettest November since 1934 last year, right at the start of the site’s earthworks stage.
“It’s a credit to Jeff Lennox and his team, really, to keep the project moving forward despite the challenging weather conditions, and we hope to still take possession at the end of the year.”
The centre court area of the Performance Centre will cater to whole-school events and gatherings.
St Luke’s Director of Co-Curricular (Culture), Sarah Ferguson said the Performing Arts Department was extremely excited about having the facility to hold full-scale musicals.
“The new seating, AV, and even acoustics will make the entire experience, in both student learning and audience enjoyment, just that much more impressive,” she said.
St Luke’s Director of Co-Curricular (Sport), Len Kirchner added sport, training and fitness could now be moved indoors for a number of sports, classes and competitions.
“This will give St Luke’s students their own ultramodern competition and training space, and the Wide Bay Region an entirely new centre to meet and compete,” he said.
“It’s a very exciting time for our school.”
With the foundation now laid, the next stages will include be blockwork, bricks, and structural steel, bringing the new building into its stunning shape and grandeur size.
Once these stages are complete, the next key milestone will be the Performance Centre’s roof, which will lessen the impact of any future weather events on the building, but also help St Luke’s community to see the project come to life.
St Luke’s Anglican School acknowledges its parent and community financial contribution towards the project as well as a contribution from the State Government via the State Capital Assistance Grants scheme.
St Luke’s Anglican School is the region’s highest achieving independent school for ATAR and NAPLAN results, catering for year levels Junior to Year 12 through Early Learning Centre, Primary School, Middle School, and Senior School.
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