Tartans Thrive Update: Groundbreaking Ceremony for the St. Margaret’s Commons Scheduled!

Progress continues to be made on the Tartans Thrive capital campaign and its centerpiece, the St. Margaret’s Commons—a 30,000-square-foot building that will be the new heart of the campus when it opens in 2026.

 

St. Margaret’s is excited to announce an all-school groundbreaking ceremony that will take place on Thursday, January 23, coinciding with the annual State of the School presentation earlier that morning. The ceremony is an important milestone in the project, as it will mark the beginning of the final step in making this transformational campus space a reality.

 

More details on the groundbreaking ceremony will be shared in the weeks ahead.

 

The groundbreaking will be followed by a busy period of construction on the site formerly occupied by Wallace Hall. The St. Margaret’s Commons is on schedule to be completed in the fall of 2026 and will be built by Del Amo Construction, a longtime partner of St. Margaret’s. In recent years, Del Amo constructed the Darcy Rice Center for the Arts, the Maseeh Middle School and Pasternack Field House.

 

“We are excited to partner with Del Amo once again, as we’ve cherished our relationship over the years and admired their high level of quality in our other campus spaces they’ve constructed,” Head of School Dr. Jeneen Graham said. “We’re also grateful for our partnership with the City of San Juan Capistrano this fall as we’ve worked to finalize the necessary permits and prepare the site for construction. We are looking forward to the groundbreaking ceremony in January and all of the exciting work that will follow.”

 

There is also progress in the interior spaces of the Commons. Last week, six Upper School students joined Trustees and school administrators in a showroom tour to explore options for furnishing the student-centric spaces of the Commons, including the student loft on the building’s second floor. Another showroom tour with school administrators took place this week.

 

Tartans Thrive launched in September 2023 as a campaign to build support for the St. Margaret’s Commons and focus on elements of human thriving which will be enhanced by the new space—nutrition, community, fitness and well-being.

 

“We have come a long way, and the support of so many great Tartans—the Board of Trustees, our leadership team, the PTF and of course the many generous donors to Tartans Thrive—have put us in a position to make the St. Margaret’s Commons a reality,” Dr. Graham said. “We are so grateful for all the hard work and support.”

 

To learn more about supporting Tartans Thrive and the future St. Margaret’s Commons, please reach out to Executive Director of Advancement Jonathan Tufo at jtufo@smes.org.