Capital Project Update

As summer break draws to a close, the final days before the start of school probably carries some measure of consternation, but for the faculty and staff of Austin Prep, that feeling is eclipsed by the excitement of new beginnings and new possibilities of the new academic year. As always, the year ahead provides new Austin Prep students and their families the opportunity to connect with returning members of our community. By advancing the Augustinian value of unitas, new friendships will be forged while existing friendships will grow ever stronger. Through the shared experiences of our Augustinian Journey together, the Austin Prep community is strengthened.

I’m pleased to report (to the disappointment of students who were hoping for a slightly longer summer break) that Austin Prep will begin the 2023-2024 academic year as planned on Tuesday, September 5. The classroom modernization project will be complete, and when students arrive on campus, they will arrive to classrooms that have air conditioning! (Oh, there’s also new lighting, new ceilings, new technology, and new white boards.) I can’t overstate how enormous this project was and I suspect the only time Austin Prep experienced a project of a similar magnitude in its 60 year history was when the cornerstone was laid.

Over the next several weeks, there are a multitude of “punch list” items – lots of little finishings – that we’ll be working on to bring the project to completion. Among the last items of any construction project is painting and touching up and that work will take place after school hours. Despite the punch list, it’s unmistakable that Austin Prep’s instructional space has been transformed – it’s bright, modern, and well equipped to begin our next 60 years.

The cost of this project was more than $4.2 million and I’m grateful to the trustees, parents, grandparents, and alumni who committed initial leadership gifts to enable us to launch a much needed multiyear infrastructure upgrade initiative. To continue to move forward and plan for next summer’s projects, support from the entire Austin Prep community will be needed. I look forward to sharing more about our plans in the months ahead.