Pimpama Catholic School

New catholic school planned for Pimpama

BRISBANE Catholic Education has laid plans for a new school in the booming Pimpama region after settling on a site near Mirvac’s Gainsborough Greens development.

The school, proposed for a 4ha site on Kerkin Road South, is due to open in 2015 and comes on the heels of a new school opened this year at Ormeau catering for 100 students.

The Pimpama school will bring to 13 the number of schools Catholic Education operates on the Gold Coast.

According to Catholic Education executive director David Hutton, Pimpama was the most likely choice for a new school on the Coast.

“We look at growth areas carefully and try to buy the sites for our new schools in advance of them being actually required so that we are able to get all the approvals, finalise our designs and get them built and brought online when the demand is there,” he said.

“We obviously look at things like Australian Bureau of Statistics population growth data and projections and the level of development and other activity in a given area.

“Pimpama will experience considerable growth over the next decade and with the purchase of this site we will be in a position to accommodate that growth.”

The purchase price has not been disclosed and is yet to appear on government records.

The proposed school has added to the development momentum gaining around the Gainsborough Greens precinct and comes on the heels of developer Tipalea Partners last month announcing a 2013 start for its proposed Pimpama Junction shopping centre, which will be anchored by Woolworths.

Another major school planned by developer Norm Rix on the Jacobs Well Road at Pimpama has also been given the green light.

The Kings College project abuts the northern fringe of the Gainsborough Greens development, which is one of the largest residential projects under way on the Coast and set to add 2300 homes to the Pimpama region over the next decade.

“When you add that to all the other activity taking place in the Pimpama corridor it is a compelling growth story,” Mirvac’s Queensland chief executive Matthew Wallace said.

Meanwhile, Mr Hutton said the Pimpama school is expected to initially cater for years “prep” to three and would add years four, five and six annually after that.

“Ultimately, the school will have an enrolment of more than 500 students from prep to Year 6,” he said.

Original article on Gold Coast.com website by Nick Nichols

About the Author

Glenn Batten - Glenn Batten is the Principal Licensee of First National Real Estate Upper Coomera which provides residential property sales and property management services throughout the Northern Growth Corridor suburbs of Upper Coomera, Coomera, Pimpama, Willow Vale, Ormeau and Oxenford.