Gonzaga Preparatory School, a private Spokane high school, has developed a list of construction projects it would like to launch in coming years, and has embarked on a fund-raising campaign to help pay for those projects as well as boost the schools tuition endowment, says Trish McFarland, the schools campaign manager.


Some of the projects, planned over the next several years, include constructing a student center that would house a relocated cafeteria, relocating and upgrading science classrooms, expanding and renovating the library, constructing a student chapel, restructuring Hurley Hall for administrative offices, erecting a visual arts building, and developing an outdoor mall to unify the campus. The mall likely would consist of a bricked pathway that would tie the student center, classroom buildings, and other facilities to one another, McFarland says.


Estimated costs for those planned projects havent been determined yet, nor has a time line for their completion. Gonzaga Prep also hasnt set a fund-raising goal yet for its campaign, but plans to do so by January. She expects that the campaign will last two years, and pledges will be collected over five years.


The first project that the school would like to undertake is the new student center, which currently is being designed. McFarland says the project would need to be built first to free up space for some of the other projects. For instance, once the student center is completed, the schools cafeteria would be moved to the new student center from another campus building, making room for the upgrades and relocation of the science classrooms. She says the student center also is expected to house a faculty dining room and a bookstore. The buildings size still hasnt been determined yet.


A library expansion also rates high on the schools planned projects list, McFarland says. She adds that Gonzaga Prep has a lot of books and a lot of kids and the library doesnt have enough room for either. Some of the remaining projects, such as the student chapel and the visual arts building, are not part of the schools immediate construction plans, she says.


Gonzaga Prep moved to its present location from the Gonzaga University campus in 1954. At that time, it served about 650 boys. In 1976, the school became coeducational, and today it serves 962 students.