Headmaster Chris Carter gushed with good humor Tuesday about the new home of Bishop Seabury Academy.

“No longer will we be cheek to jowl,” he said while supervising delivery of pianos, desks, books and equipment at the school’s new location on Clinton Parkway.

Left behind was the cramped, antiquated former elementary school building at 1411 E. 1850 Road that served Seabury junior high and high school students since the academy was launched in 1997.

When the private Episcopal school’s 115 students resume classes Aug. 20, they’ll assemble in well-appointed academic spaces that once were the domain of tennis players.

A 10-month, $1.6 million renovation of the former Alvamar Racquet and Swim Club, 4120 Clinton Parkway, produced a computer laboratory and well-equipped science class.

The academy’s commons room replaced the club’s lobby. A full-sized gymnasium and large performing arts stage filled an area that once held tennis courts. Art classes will be taught in a small building nearby.

“It’s an astonishing transition,” Carter said. “Especially if you saw it as a tennis club.”

It may be simple amenities veteran teachers and students appreciate most, he said.

“People are excited here about having storage and having enough restroom facilities,” Carter said.

Elisabeth Lee, a teacher at Bishop Seabury Academy, sits in her new classroom, renovated from the former Alvamar Racquet and Swim Club. The academy moved Tuesday into its new quarters.

Elisabeth Lee, one of the founding teachers at Bishop Seabury, sat in her new classroom. Until movers delivered her teaching materials, it was adorned only with a few rugs and two child-sized red chairs.

The new building is a dream come true, said Lee.

“It’s very gratifying and profoundly moving,” Lee said.

French teacher Mary Johnson said she would miss one aspect of the old location — convening classes outside in a rural atmosphere.

“I love the country setting, but I think this is going to be marvelous,” she said.

Carter said one goal of the move was to better connect the academy with the city.

“We want to be an active, vital part of Lawrence, and it was hard to do that 4 miles outside of Lawrence,” he said.

Employees for Professional Moving & Storage Inc. Samuel Parker, left, and Harold McClendon roll a piano through Bishop Seabury's new building Tuesday afternoon.