Helping deliver a brand new Catholic primary school to the Papamoa community

In response to the needs associated with rapid population growth in the wider Tauranga area, and demand for schools that provide a Catholic charter, the Bishop of the Diocese of Hamilton sought to establish a new primary school in Papamoa.

Boffa Miskell’s involvement in this project commenced with advice to the Diocese provided in an initial site selection investigation in 2009 which assessed potential school location options in Tauranga’s eastern growth corridor.

Location

Bay of Plenty

Worked with

Craig Batchelar
EPM
Hegley Acoustics
Integrated Development Solutions
S&L
Stantec

Project date

2009 - ongoing

The site, located within the Wairakei Urban Growth Area, was acquired by the Diocese 2014. In addition to the school, a masterplan for the site was developed which anticipates an early childhood centre, parish church and community centre.

As part of Plan Change 25 process for the Wairakei Urban Growth Area, Boffa Miskell successfully sought the inclusion of specific provisions for the school as a scheduled site within the Tauranga City Plan in 2017.

Most recently, Boffa Miskell helped obtain land use consent from Tauranga City Council for Stage 1 of the school, which enables up to 250 pupils between Years 1 – 6. This stage comprises 11 classrooms, an administration building, a school hall, a library, a caretaker’s shed and 75 car parking spaces.

In support of this consent application, Boffa Miskell also led the preparation of the required landscape concept plan for the site, which includes a central courtyard and lawn, playground, playing field and planted strip with specimen trees.

The school was named Suzanne Aubert Catholic School. The school’s patron was a French Sister, nurse, botanist and chemist who arrived in Aotearoa in 1860.

Suzanne Aubert Catholic School was formally opened in early February 2021 by Stephen Marmion Lowe, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton. The school opened with 80 pupils, and quickly grew to 100.

Principal Anthony Mills says, "Thank you to Boffa Miskell for your mahi in creating this space. We consider ourselves privileged to be leading learning in such a beautiful, warm and inviting environment. Our learners, whānau and community visitors always comment on the design and how 'homely' it is.

"It is very striking from the road and has created a lot of interest in the local community. The learning environments are well designed and allow for flexibility and creativity with varied spaces for different types of learning."

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