Cranbrook School to embark on $75 million redevelopment
A NEW multipurpose building, aquatic centre and underground carpark will underpin a proposed $75 redevelopment of Cranbrook School’s senior campus.
Wentworth Courier
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A NEW multipurpose building, aquatic centre and underground carpark will underpin a proposed $75 redevelopment of Cranbrook School’s senior campus.
Wentworth Courier visited the Bellevue Hill school last week to view plans for the new Centenary Building, which will replace the existing drama and arts facility.
The school’s first dedicated chapel, theatre, performance rooms, assembly hall, dining area and 16 open plan classrooms with movable walls and break out spaces will be built over five levels.
The spaces have been designed for versatility — the assembly area can double as a sports hall and the dining room can also serve as flexible learning spaces.
A large lawn area on the roof of the building will form the “green heart” of the campus.
A new aquatic and fitness centre will feature a 50m swimming pool.
Cranbrook headmaster Nicholas Sampson has assured neighbours the project is aimed at renewing the school’s ageing buildings and improving learning experiences rather than boosting their student numbers.
“Next year is our centenary year and that’s given us pause to reflect upon what we want Cranbrook to be over the next 50 to 100 years,” Mr Sampson said.
“We have one of the most beautiful settings in the world for a school (but) some of our building stock has reached the end of its natural life — it was put up in the immediate post war period around the 1950s.
“We want to take local concerns very seriously so we are not seeking to expand our cap on numbers.”
Mr Sampson said they had gone to great lengths to address neighbours’ concerns over traffic by proposing the construction of an underground carpark, with at least 120 spaces, to stop staff circling local streets and taking up on-street parking.
“We are also bringing the drop off and pick up area on-site which is safer for our students and better for our neighbours,” he said.
The majority of the Centenary Building will sit below the current lawn level.
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The school started the application process through the Department of Planning last month and last week briefed Woollahra Council on the project but has not yet submitted its final proposal.
Neighbours will be consulted through a public exhibition process and open days before final approval is granted.
The school hopes to start construction late next year with a target completion date of early 2020.