'Demonstration Projects' in Camden,
New Brunswick Ready for Final Approval

SCC OKs Major Community School Building Plans to Revitalize Cities

Trenton, NJ (June 23, 2004) - Camden and New Brunswick are the latest cities poised to benefit from school-based community development initiatives that leverage state school construction funding to secure private investments and spur urban redevelopment with new housing and retail opportunities.

The Board of Directors of New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) gave its final OK today for the two “demonstration projects” to move forward, joining initiatives in Vineland, Trenton, East Orange and Union City which the SCC Board approved June 14. Final approval is up to Treasurer John McCormac, who granted all six projects preliminary approval last fall.

“Today, we are one step closer to creating schools in New Jersey that will be true ‘centers of communities’ – schools that will serve students, as well as parents, seniors and other residents,” said Governor James E. McGreevey. “The demonstration projects in New Brunswick and Camden will provide students with a state-of-the-art school, and at the same time, revitalize the neighborhoods where they live. These projects are evidence of how we’re not just building new schools, we’re building new communities – we're building opportunity."

The demonstration projects are a critical part of the Governor’s efforts to build a better New Jersey through improved education and revitalized communities. These initiatives are designed to revitalize neighborhoods through education and partnerships within local communities statewide as part of an $8.6 billion school building program overseen by the SCC – the largest public construction program ever undertaken by the State of New Jersey, and one of the largest programs of its type ever undertaken in the nation.

“Thanks to the Governor’s leadership, we are building community-oriented, state-of-the-art schools that will serve as a catalyst for a resurgence of growth and economic revitalization within these urban neighborhoods,” stated John F. Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of the SCC.

“These projects exemplify Governor McGreevey’s commitment to build and strengthen New Jersey’s economy by investing in children, education and communities,” Treasurer McCormac said in granting preliminary approvals last October. “The facilities will serve as central activity locations where neighborhoods can come together and children can learn in high quality, modern educational environments.

Through the school-based community development initiative, the school serves as a community anchor. State and city agencies work cooperatively to provide children with safe, modern classrooms while maximizing urban renewal efforts. Community design features – such as athletic venues, auditoriums, media centers accessible to students and residents alike – are key components of the program. The demonstration projects also serve as a catalyst for private investment to revitalize urban communities with new housing and retail opportunities.

SCC funds school construction components of the demonstration projects. The project team members are put together by the city, and all projects are subject to intense public input and planning by the school district, community and municipal representatives. A city-named redevelopment authority manages the demonstration project and enters into an agreement with a redeveloper – typically from the private sector – that is responsible for completing the project. Any contractors hired for the construction project are selected on a competitive basis. Throughout the process, SCC reviews all costs before any work is authorized and monitors the project to its completion.

As it approaches its second anniversary, SCC has hundreds of school construction projects under way and is making tremendous progress in fulfilling the visionary goal of Governor McGreevey, who initiated SCC in July 2002 to streamline the building of much-needed quality schools statewide.

Aspects of the demonstration projects SCC approved today include:

Camden: The demonstration project proposed by Camden School District and the City of Camden is the new Octavius V. Catto Community School, a 122,729-square-foot pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade facility for approximately 540 students. It will replace the existing Catto Elementary School and Davis Elementary School to provide more capacity for academic and athletic activities. The nonprofit Boys and Girls Club of Camden County will finance and operate a new facility attached to Catto School that will feature a 7,000-square-foot swimming pool and community meeting rooms. Students can use these facilities and the swimming pool during school hours, and Boys and Girls Club members can use school common areas, such as the gym and auditorium during non-school hours. The proposed budget is $48.4 million. The project, scheduled for completion by fall 2006, will be managed by Camden City Redevelopment Agency as redevelopment entity.

New Brunswick: The demonstration project proposed by the New Brunswick School District and the City of New Brunswick is a new 436,000 square foot high school for 2,400 students on a site proposed for the City’s “Route 27—Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Area.” The new high school is expected to accommodate students in four 3-story educational pods connected to a central core structure housing indoor athletic facilities, a gymnasium, an auditorium and other common and administrative spaces. It is being designed to offer students and community residents a comprehensive approach to health and spaces that foster community service and school-community interaction, while also serving as an anchor and support for proposed housing and commercial redevelopment activities. The cost is estimated at $133 million. The New Brunswick Housing Authority will manage the project as the redevelopment entity. The project is scheduled to be completed by June 2007.

The demonstration projects approved June 14 by the SCC include:

Vineland: The proposed $62 million demonstration project will include a new pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade school for 820 students on a 9.7-acre campus in the heart of Vineland. The project will include myriad community design features – athletic venues, health care and advanced learning areas for students during regular school hours and for members of the community after school – as the result of an intensive, yearlong planning process involving more than 40 local community groups. The school will be a cluster of smaller buildings that will accommodate students according to grade level. The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2006.

Trenton: The proposed $28 million demonstration project calls for a new 1,400-student vocational high school – the “Daylight/Twilight Alternative High School” – at East Hanover and Montgomery streets. It will encompass 78,800 square feet of space, including 32,400 square feet of new construction linked to 46,400 square feet of renovated space in two vacant buildings. The project is intended to be a catalyst for revitalizing the downtown Canal Banks redevelopment area known as the “Old Trenton Neighborhood.” Tailored to adult students, the “Daylight/Twilight Alternative High School” will be part of an urban college-type campus with such community-based learning institutions as the Public Library, Mercer County Community College and YMCA around a central urban open space. The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2006.

Union City: The demonstration project in Union City is estimated to cost approximately $133 million. It calls for construction of a new high school and parking facility, totaling some 430,000 square feet, to accommodate 1,500 students. The project calls for the demolition of antiquated Roosevelt Stadium. The new school facility to be built on the Roosevelt Stadium site will include a gym, auditorium and cafeteria; a new stadium will be built on the roof of this building to accommodate a regulation size football and baseball field. The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2007.

East Orange: The $120 million demonstration project in Main Street redevelopment area proposes a 1,300-student pre-K through 12th grade performing arts magnet community school combining East Orange’s acclaimed Washington Academy of Music and Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts. The building area totals 309,000 square feet. Plans entail razing former East Orange High, built in 1911, to create an 11-acre campus with separate buildings for pre-K and K, grades 1st-through-4th, 5th-through-8th and 9th through 12th. The project is scheduled for completion by spring 2007.

The City of Vineland, the Mercer County Improvement Authority (MCIA), on behalf of the City of Trenton, the City of East Orange and the Union City Redevelopment Agency (UCRA) will serve as the redevelopment entities by their respective municipal governing bodies to manage the demonstration projects in their cities.

SCC Demonstration Project Team
Allen Wahlberg, Business Manager, Demonstration Projects,
Cecily Banks, Sr. Grants Coordinator Policy & Planning,
Ronald Carper Jr., Project Officer, Land Acquisition,
Jerry Murphy, Chief Operating Officer,
Barbara Bohi, Managing Director, Policy & Planning

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