St. John’s Catholic Prep settles on purchase of Buckeystown campus

St. John’s Catholic Prep in Frederick has announced the settlement on the purchase of its new Buckeystown campus, which formerly housed St. Thomas More Academy.

Construction is expected to begin in the next few weeks, Gordon Oliver, president of St. John’s Catholic Prep, said in an Aug 24 statement. The Frederick County school will hold classes classes at its current location through December, and plans to move to its new location in January.  

“Since moving to Prospect Hall from East Second Street in downtown Frederick in 1958, the Prospect Hall campus and facilities have served St. John’s well,” Oliver said in a statement. “Now, we must secure the school’s future and look to the vision and potential that a 66-acre campus and a repurposed physical plant of only seven years will bring to our school program and to Catholic secondary education in Frederick County.” 

The Buckeystown campus will feature upgraded classrooms and gymnasium, an expanded chapel and state-of-the-art technology and science labs, Oliver said. 

As funding is available, the school community plans to develop a campus master plan that will incorporate an arts center, stadium, additional athletic fields and 400-meter track, among other things, Oliver said.    

“There is so much opportunity ahead at the new campus,” Greg Harraka, chairman of the school’s board of directors, said in the statement. “St. John’s will be marking another milestone in its history as we move to a facility to meet the educational needs of the ever-growing, greater Frederick area.” 

St. Thomas More Academy (STMA) will open Sept. 4 – one week after Archdiocese of Baltimore schools open – at the former Middletown Primary School. Its plans to relocate to another location fell through.