The Lovett School broke ground this week on a new campus centerpiece along West Paces Ferry Road, a $93 million project called Rita Anne Rollins Hall that is set to open in fall 2028 and become the connective heart of the Buckhead private school’s lower, middle and upper divisions.
The 150,000-square-foot building rises on the site of the school’s former community center, which opened in 1960, and is funded in large part by a $30 million gift from the Randall and Peggy Rollins family made in November 2025, according to WSB-TV. The gift is described in the station’s report as the largest single donation in Lovett’s history and among the largest ever given to an independent K-12 school in the United States. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported the commitment is believed to be the largest single donation ever made to a Georgia independent K-12 school, surpassing a $19 million gift The Weber School in Sandy Springs received in 2022.
A $93 Million Vision Behind the Groundbreaking
While the Rollins family gift anchored the project, campaign documentation published by The Lovett School shows Rita Anne Rollins Hall carries a total working budget goal of $93 million as part of the school’s broader “One Lovett” centennial fundraising campaign, meaning substantial fundraising is still underway beyond the initial lead gift. School specifications released in January indicate the finished building will include a 600-seat chapel and assembly space along with an expanded central quad that adds an additional acre of greenspace to Lovett’s campus.
The station’s report describes the hall as a campus hub meant to serve worship, dining, the arts and student support all in one place. Planned features include a light-filled chapel, state-of-the-art performing arts spaces, classrooms, studios and makerspaces for expanded curricular offerings, expanded and reimagined dining spaces, and an expansive campus green linking the lower, middle and upper schools.
Design Team and Construction Timeline
Atlanta-based architecture firm Cooper Carry designed the new campus center, with IMPACT Development Management overseeing construction, according to reporting by Urbanize Atlanta. Head of School Meredyth Cole called the groundbreaking “a proud day and historic moment for The Lovett School,” per the station’s account, as the building is expected to open in time for the fall 2028 semester…