Knipp Commercial to Build $9 Million Gym and Arts Center for Chandler’s Oldest Catholic School

Rendering by Adaptive Architects, courtesy of St. Mary-Basha Catholic School (Knipp Commercial)

Shea Homes gave $6 million toward the project at St. Mary-Basha Catholic School. Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke joined Thursday’s ceremonial groundbreaking.

CHANDLER, AZ, UNITED STATES, October 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Chandler’s oldest Catholic school is getting a full-size gym, a performance stage and new classrooms for music, art and drama. St. Mary-Basha Catholic School, founded in 1944, held a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday for the $9 million, 17,000-square-foot Art and Athletics Center. Phoenix-based Knipp Commercial will build it on the school’s campus at 200 W. Galveston St. Plans also include retractable bleachers and a STREAM classroom for science, technology, religion,
engineering, art and math.

A $6 million grant from Shea Homes put the project on a much faster timeline than the school had planned. The grant is the lead gift in Building on Faith: Our Tradition, Our Future, the capital campaign the school launched last year. School families, community members and even students have given to the campaign, which has raised more than half of its $9 million goal. Donations are still open at givebutter.com/SMBGYM.

Bishop John P. Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix blessed the site and prayed for the school’s future students and for the safety of the construction crews. Also attending were Shea Homes Area President Hal Looney, Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke and Domonic Salce, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Phoenix.

“The best part of building schools is seeing the kids’ faces the first time they walk in,” said Wally Knipp, founder and CEO of Knipp Contracting. “Shea Homes and everyone who gave made this possible, right down to the students.”

Project team: St. Mary-Basha Catholic School (owner), Knipp Commercial (general contractor) and Adaptive Architects (architect).

About Knipp Commercial
Knipp Commercial is the commercial building arm of Knipp Contracting, a family-owned general contractor in Phoenix founded in 2009 by Wally and Wendy Knipp. Knipp builds schools, churches, restaurants, retail spaces and senior living communities throughout the West and Southwest. For more than 10 years, it has renovated five to nine Catholic school campuses every summer. Learn more at knippcontracting.com.

Wendy Knipp
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Knipp Commercial
+1 623-561-0803

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