Building the PAC

The last few weeks have seen many of our student performers return to the stage and to our Fitzsimmons Black Box Theater for the first time since the pandemic began, with our moving student-directed SASS performances in January, last week’s wonderful production of Little Women and yesterday’s dynamic Dance Showcase. With our long-awaited return to the Fitz this winter, it seems like an ideal time to share an exciting update that will impact the performing arts and our overall community engagement at SA.

Yesterday, we also crossed an important and exciting milestone in the development and launch of our Community and Performing Arts Center. Tory Nosler, our Board Chair, and I signed the contract with DPR Construction Firm, which means that we are officially on our way to the groundbreaking and launch of construction of this transformative space. DPR plans to begin preparation of the construction site over our spring break. We anticipate completion of the project roughly 18 months from the start date, and we are optimistic that the new space will open at the start of the 2023-2024 school year.

Of course, the beginning of construction is one critical step in the development of this project. But an equally important step is the vision we hold about how we will use this space to further fulfill our mission. I am truly excited about the opportunities this space presents for our school and the surrounding community. In addition to building upon existing programs, I see so many possibilities for community engagement and thought partnership/leadership in Sonoma County. 

This is just one of the projects we are working on as we look to enhance our spaces to gather, particularly those outdoor spaces that have been rediscovered and/or used more heavily throughout this past year. Specifically, we’ll be embarking on upgrades to our amphitheater—which will include a new stage, seating design, and a more “plug and play” set-up for  our facilities, tech, and arts teams. This will allow us to use this space more regularly. We are also in the early stages of a design for embedded seating for athletics events in the relatively barren hillside just below the classrooms in building A (as well as some additional athletic improvements (image below). We will have more to share on that soon.

 

We will hold an official groundbreaking ceremony with students on April 20 and with parents at Big Night Outside: The Spring Shindig on April 23. We are very excited to launch this next phase of campus development, and we look forward to seeing you at Big Night Outside as we break ground together!