Beaches Campus Hosts Ribbon Cutting for New Gym, Performing Arts Center, and Cordell Library and Innovation Center

Beaches Campus officially opened its new gym and performing arts center, and state of the art library and learning center, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, September 9, led by The Rev. Adam Greene, Head of School, and Jennifer Ketchum, Head of Lower School, Beaches Campus. Episcopal broke ground on the project November 12, 2021.

The Episcopal drumline, Talon the Eagle mascot, Varsity cheerleaders, and the Upper School and Lower School basketball teams all welcomed guests to the event in the gym. Christine Hoffman, Mayor of Jacksonville Beach, Beaches Campus students in grades Pre-K 3 through fifth grade, Episcopal faculty and staff; and parents, and friends of the school attended the ceremony.

“This new gym and performing arts facility, and the new Cordell Library and Innovation Center, will allow our students to fully participate in and benefit from our Four Pillars – Academics, Fine Arts, Athletics, and Spiritual Life,” said Rev. Greene. “The campus also now has a larger, whole school meeting space and facility for gathering, important to building our community and strengthening our Episcopal family. Many donors gave generously to this campaign, and I especially thank the Petway family for sharing our vision for this facility from the very beginning. I also give special thanks to Jennifer Ketchum for her leadership; and thanks to our construction partners, Summit Construction, for the hard work in bringing this vision into reality.”

The new gym and performing arts center features a varsity sized court and two half courts, retractable basketball goals and bleachers, a performance stage and dressing rooms, curtains and chairs, and theater lighting system. As part of the expansion, the school created a new library and media and innovation center named for the Cordell family in thanks for their generosity. The campus’s playground was moved to the site of the current outdoor basketball court and a school-owned building on an adjacent lot was created to provide additional parking.  

“We know the children sitting here today and the children who are not yet enrolled will benefit from this space for years and years,” said Rev. Greene. “It is not often a community is involved in an intergenerational project, but this new gym and performing arts facility and library and innovation center will be a part of our school for generations to come. We are so grateful to so many in our Episcopal community who have made these new facilities  possible.”