The school will grow by 10,000 square feet of space.
Frederick, Md (KM). Work could begin soon on the expansion of St. John’s Catholic Prep on Buckeystown Pike. President Tom Powell says the site plan has received approval from the Frederick County Planning Commission, and the school is waiting for its permits.
Plans are to add 10,000 square feet of space to the school. Dr. Powell says work will include “doubling the size of our cafeteria; putting on a multi-purpose room for our students to play practice and music practice; a much larger music room; art room to put more attention on the fine arts,” he says. “We have a good program here……and some additional classrooms.” In addition, the school plans to build a chapel. “We would have daily mass here for the students, and do it in a small enough way so that we might be able to bring a class to mass every day, about 30 to 40 students.”
The building was originally an elementary school. St. Thomas More Academy was housed there until it moved to Middletown. St. John’s Catholic Prep relocated there from its facility at Prospect Hall off of Butterfly Lane in Frederick city.
Dr. Powell says he would like work on this project to begin as soon as possible, and be completed by the time of the new school year in September. He realizes that’s a very tight time line. “We think our construction company, which is going to be Warner Construction, believes it can be done in a four-month period of time.,” says Powell.
He says everything is almost in place. “We already have our site plan approved, and we’re just waiting for the county to approve the final building plan,” Dr. Powell says. “But we have all of the money thanks to Columbia Bank. Columbia Bank has been absolutely excellent in working with us on this addition. We’ve also been doing fund raising with our families and friends. So we have all the money put together for this.”
After this addition is completed, Powell says the school will upgrade its outdoor sports fields. He says St. John’s is “building an artificial turf football field which will also accommodate soccer and lacrosse programs,” he says. “And we’ll have stands for about 800 spectators, a press box, concession stand, bathrooms, the whole nine yards. So we’re looking forward to that.”
He’s hoping that project will be “absolutely completed” a year from now.
St. John’s current enrollment is 300 students, and that’s expected to grow by ten to 15 students next year.
By Kevin McManus