Dubbo’s St Johns College: $4.5M events space construction to begin
Construction of a new state of the art multipurpose hall with double the seating capacity of the current building will soon start at Dubbo’s St Johns College. SEE HOW IT’LL LOOK
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After six years of planning work, construction of a massive new $4.5 million multipurpose hall will soon get underway at Dubbo’s St Johns College.
The new hall will be one of the biggest indoor event spaces in Dubbo and includes space for 1200 people to be seated at masses, liturgies, assemblies, musicals and other performances.
St Johns College Principal Kerry Morris said the new hall was badly needed because the school’s 900 students and more than 100 staff members were unable to all fit in their current hall.
“The current hall will seat 600, obviously students are squashed in and some have to sit on the floor,” Mrs Morris said.
“We’ve been unable to invite parents to many of our big functions because we had nowhere to put them.
“If we got parents in, some of the students had to sit further squashed up or we couldn’t invite the whole school.”
The new hall will include a mezzanine area for about 300 people, seats for 520 people in the main auditorium area and 460 retractable seats to allow the hall to be opened up and used as an exhibition or function space.
Green rooms, storage spaces, a foyer and bar service area will also form part of the hall development.
Mrs Morris said an old CEO building and car park would be demolished to make way for the hall which has been funded by the local school community and Catholic Education Office.
“It’s been a long haul and it’s very exciting,” she said.
“This will give us this cohesive school community environment that we haven’t really been able to experience in the last 10 years.
“There’s a lot of local contractors involved who have connections to the school.”
Former St Johns students have been a driving force to help ensure the hall met the school’s needs now and in the future, Mrs Morris said.
“I taught both Kirk Gleeson and Jim Sarantzouklis from [building design company] Barnson.
“It’s not just a project to these people.”
Mrs Hall said the hall was expected to host its first events in the middle of 2021.
She said a celebration planned to mark 50 years of St Johns College in Dubbo would coincide the hall’s opening.