Pine Lake Prep set to add gym, arts center

Pine Lake Preparatory School on N.C. 115 in Mooresville will expand next year.

The tuition-free, K-12 public charter school broke ground recently on two buildings – a gymnasium and a fine arts center – the school expects to open by next school year. Pine Lake Prep has 1,600 students from six counties, but presently has only classrooms.

With help from families and local businesses, the school raised the $1 million needed to break ground on the buildings.

Statesville-based G.L. Wilson Building Co. will construct both buildings.

The Athletic and Community Center will include a full-sized gymnasium with bleacher seating for 1,000 people, a fitness room, multipurpose room, concessions area, locker rooms, storage space and offices, school officials said. The estimated cost of the building is $2.25 million.

The other building, the Fine Arts Pavilion, will include both performance and classroom space for drama, band, chorus and arts activities. Construction is expected to cost $1 million to $1.2 million.

Regions Bank is providing the construction loan for the projects. The current campus was developed by Beacon Partners.

Groundbreaking on the two buildings became a reality when this year’s Annual Fund kicked off at the school. The campaign aimed to raise the remaining $300,000 needed to break ground.

Students came up with creative ways to raise money, such as lemonade stands, car washes, garage sales, bike-a-thons, dog-sitting and babysitting, school officials said. Athletic coaches slept in tents on campus for two days until an additional $20,000 was contributed, and parents held a tag sale with donated household items.

The effort to reach the $1 million goal took five years of pledges and donations from families, matching gifts from corporate sponsors, large fundraisers such as the Annual Fund and annual golf tournament, and small-scale efforts. Eighty percent of the school’s roughly 800 families contributed.