Campus Improvement Plan:
Board Announces $1 million Athletic Complex Challenge!
For nearly a decade the Laguna Blanca Board of Trustees has worked diligently to create a comprehensive Campus Improvement Plan for the Hope Ranch campus.
The first of the long-anticipated improvements was the beautiful and versatile Emmons Arts Center in 2007. Prominently located atop the Hope Ranch campus, it now offers Laguna Blanca’s visual and performing artists dedicated spaces for ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture, as well as a music classroom with advanced acoustics and a high-tech digital recording studio.
In February 2010, the entire school—all students, faculty, and staff—gathered in Merovick Gym with lead donors to celebrate the completion of the latest major construction project of our comprehensive Campus Improvement Plan (CIP)—the expansion of the Athletic Complex.
In just over 18 months, Schipper Construction, KBZ Architects, and EarthForm Design proved to be the best in their fields and completed one of the foremost elements of this plan—a first-rate 4,200 square-foot gymnasium expansion that now completes the 13,500+ square-foot athletic complex.
New Gym Facilities
• Boys’ Locker Room with ample storage space for sports gear
(712 sq. ft.)
• The Hodges Family Girls’ Locker Room outfitted with private showers and a spacious changing area (566 sq. ft.)
• The O’Donnell Family Physical Therapy & Training Room equipped with 3 treatment tables (510 sq. ft.)
• The Stephens/Homeniuk Family Fitness and Conditioning Center outfitted with free-weights and cross-training equipment (600 sq. ft.)
• Multipurpose Room for team meetings and PE electives (644 sq. ft.)
• Central Office Complex for the athletic administration and coaching staff (288 sq. ft.)
• Equipment & Storage Room (375 sq. ft.)
The new gymnasium complex will ensure that Laguna Blanca student-athletes have the requisite resources and sufficient space to train more effectively and compete with area schools in the Condor league and beyond. We are grateful to our leading parent donors who have each generously donated or pledged $100,000 - $250,000 to launch the $2 million expansion project— Christine Green, Natalie and Brett Hodges, Dawn and Pierce O’Donnell, Marina Stephens and Len Homeniuk. We are also very appreciative of over a dozen families who committed gifts or pledges ranging from $1,000 - $100,000 in support of this project.
During the initial stages of the gym construction, a state-of-the-art, environmentally-designed, low-impact, low-visibility underground water treatment system was also installed. This new water treatment system will ultimately process all of the grey water from the Athletic Complex into earth-friendly irrigation for the sports fields.
Dramatic changes will soon be occurring around the periphery of the athletics complex. “We are thrilled to announce that the Laguna Blanca Board of Trustees has generously established a $1 million Challenge Fund towards the $2 million needed to complete the green parking plaza surrounding the gymnasium. “This new gateway to the Hope Ranch Campus will have lushly landscaped parking areas,” explains Campaign Chair Leesa Wilson-Goldmuntz. “The parking plaza will feature native trees and plants, plenty of shade, 156 parking stalls, and permeable paving that will allow rain run-off to recharge the water table.”
“Laguna Blanca has benefited from a long history of giving,” adds Headmaster Paul Slocombe. “This tradition of giving dates back to the 1930s when Mr. and Mrs. Harold Chase donated nearly 33 acres of land which today is home to the Hope Ranch campus. We should all be grateful to the Board for their dedication, leadership, and inspirational challenge to the School community to carry on with a significant and meaningful tradition.”
“Our goal is to raise the remaining 50% of building costs for the athletic complex and parking plaza by December 2010,” reports Sherri Nelson, Chair of the Development Committee. “Throughout the School’s nearly 80-year history there have been thousands of people who have worked hard to build the great institution that we have today. We are thrilled that the Board has continued this wonderful tradition of giving and are excited about the possibilities as we reach out to the greater Laguna community!”
“We have a variety of gift levels and naming opportunities for parents, grandparents, alumni, parents of alumni, and friends,” states Director of Development Will Wyman. “I can’t imagine a better way for a family to convey their love of Laguna! Many families have already included the School in their philanthropic plans with multi-year capital pledges and/or planned gifts for the endowment.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Additional elements of the Campus Improvement Plan include: conversion of the former locker room building into a Humanities Hall with three spacious, contemporary classrooms; the transformation of Spaulding Auditorium into an exciting new Performing Arts Complex; and the establishment of a modernized science complex with a new physical science classroom and chemistry laboratory. The culmination of the Campus Improvement Plan will feature the creation of a central Campus Promenade and a new Academic Center (library) with a covered outdoor Locker Pavilion. Last but not least, another very important element is a financial goal to raise $6 million for the School’s endowment, increasing it to $12 million or more.
YOU CAN HELP
Families, friends, and corporations wishing to support the Athletic Complex challenge or get more information about the Campus Improvement Plan are encouraged to contact Will Wyman, Director of Development at 687.1752 x205 or wwyman@lagunablanca.org.
