A three-storey building will be demolished at St Francis Xavier's College to create more playground space as the growing high school prepares to welcome more year groups.
The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has lodged plans with City of Newcastle to knock down a former Marist Monastery built in the 1930s at the corner of Parkway Avenue and Everton Street, Hamilton East.
A spokesperson for the Catholic dioceses said the demolition was aimed at providing better recreation spaces for junior and senior students.
The building is underutilised on the school site due to its compartmentalised floorplan and poor condition, according to planning documents. It is largely unused outside of occasionally hosting student exams.
A heritage impact statement also stated the building was associated with "horrific longstanding patterns of child sexual abuse committed under the Brothers' order over the late twentieth century".
"The nature of the interiors in connection with ongoing trauma renders the Monastery unusable from a social perspective," the heritage statement said.
The new cleared space created by the demolition will include a passive grassed area and picnic-style seating to cater for additional year groups that progressively join the school over the next three years.
St Francis Xavier's welcomed its first cohort of year 7 students at the start of 2024 who joined years 11 and 12 at the school.
The diocese announced plans in 2022 to extend the school from year 11 and 12 only to a full year 7-12 by 2027.
The demolition works are predicted to be completed within three months, subject to DA approval.
The dioceses spokesperson said the demolition was expected to have "minimal impact" on the surrounding community.
The new playground area will be secured from the public access with a palisade fence designed in line with the remaining structures and buildings onsite and the heritage context of Parkway Avenue.
