SALEM — Salem Academy Christian Schools has broken ground on a major expansion at its Lancaster Drive campus, moving a years-long planning effort into construction as the private PreK-12 school prepares for continued growth.
The project, led by Salem-based Rich Duncan Construction, will add a two-story education building to the academy’s 942 Lancaster Drive NE campus. City permit records describe the project as a 33,182-square-foot commercial building designed to serve Salem Academy’s high school program, with 15 classrooms, five labs, administrative space, teacher support space and restrooms on both floors.
The groundbreaking marks a shift from planning to visible work on a campus that school leaders have said is running short on space. Salem Academy, founded in 1945, has served Salem families for eight decades and has grown into a PreK-12 Christian school drawing students from across the region.
The school’s capital campaign materials describe the expansion as a way to serve more secondary students and add modern learning space for programs including computer-aided design, robotics, life sciences and physical sciences. The same campaign materials listed spring 2026 as the target for groundbreaking and fall 2027 as the goal for completion.
The City of Salem building permit for the project is listed as issued. The permit places the project valuation at $7.4 million and identifies Rich Duncan Construction as the contractor. Related electrical, plumbing, mechanical and fire system permits are also listed under the project.
For Rich Duncan Construction, the project connects professional work with local ties. The Salem contractor was selected last year to guide the expansion, adding another education project to a portfolio that has included work for schools, clinics and commercial clients in the Willamette Valley.
“I have four kids that go to Salem Academy,” Nathan Cooke, vice president of operations at Rich Duncan Construction, said when the company was selected for the project. “The chairman of the board, Rich, also has a few grandkids there, and we are just extremely passionate about Christian education. Being a part of something like this, building an institution that is going to make a difference in the community and in the lives of young people for years and years to come, is very meaningful to us.”
The expansion comes as Salem and the surrounding mid-valley continue to face pressure from population growth, school demand and aging infrastructure. Private schools are not immune from those pressures. Families seeking smaller school environments, faith-based education or long-term stability still need buildings that can support enrollment.
Salem Academy’s campaign materials said the project is intended to help welcome 119 additional secondary students. That number gives the expansion a concrete purpose beyond a larger footprint. The new building is meant to create room for students the current campus cannot easily absorb.
Cooke has described the project as more than construction. “I think the world continues to be in need of sources of hope, and Salem Academy can bring that,” he said. “With this new facility, it’s going to open up opportunities to serve more kids and families, and it’s just going to be an awesome thing.”
The work is expected to continue into 2027, with the new building targeted for completion in the fall of that year. When finished, the project will give Salem Academy new classroom and lab space while reinforcing Rich Duncan Construction’s role in mid-valley education construction.
For the school, the groundbreaking is the public start of a project years in the making. For families, it signals that more space is finally on the way.