Thanks to a $1.5 million capital campaign now under way, Bishop Seabury Academy is moving closer toward funding a new fine arts and academic building.

Plans call for breaking ground next fall on a 7,000-square-foot building at the Episcopal secondary school, 4120 Clinton Parkway, said Chris Carter, head of the school.

“I’m very excited about the space,” Carter said. “It would contain a visual arts room, a performing arts room and four academic classrooms.”

The $800,000 building will be constructed just west of the main building. A small structure now in that area will be razed to make way for the project, Carter said.

The school has 125 students in grades seven through 12.

“We’re growing and already using all of our classrooms nearly every day,” Carter said. “We really need better-dedicated space for the fine arts, both visual arts and the performing arts, that are taking place in rooms that are not specifically designed for those purposes.

“Given our commitment to excellence, we want to provide excellent facilities so those programs can really achieve excellent results.”

The new building will allow the school to expand some of its academic programs and help out athletic programs, he said.

“We’ve got a couple of classrooms that we’re using right now that we hope to ultimately turn into changing rooms nearer to the gym,” he said.

Sara King works on a plaster hand that resembles her own Friday at Bishop Seabury Academy, 4120 Clinton Parkway. The school is planning an 00,000, 7,000-square-foot fine arts and academic building that will help relieve overcrowding, part of a .5 million capital campaign.

The capital campaign is being tied to Bishop Seabury’s 10th year. This is the fourth year it has been at its existing site, which was formerly a tennis facility owned by the Alvamar Country Club.

The $1.5 million capital campaign began following a gift by Mr. and Mrs. J. Gilbert Reese, an Ohio couple who have grandchildren at the school and made a $500,000 challenge pledge, Carter said.

“They were very excited about what we’re doing here for their grandchildren and wanted to be a part of our growth,” Carter said.

The campaign has already received slightly more than $400,000 in pledges toward that $500,000 matching pledge, he said.

Carter said the campaign will continue until enough funds are raised to do all of the planned projects. Those include renovations to the parking lot and the school’s roof and for air conditioning for the gymnasium, he said.

Bishop Seabury draws students and supporters from both St. Margaret’s Episcopal and Trinity Episcopal churches in Lawrence, but is an independently operated Episcopal school.