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East Orange Breaks Ground
For Community School Demonstration Project
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$115 Million Cicely Tyson Performing Arts Facility
To Serve as Cornerstone of Downtown Revitalization
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East Orange, NJ (October 12, 2005) - The third of six New Jersey Demonstration Projects got under way today with a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Cicely Tyson School of Fine and Performing Arts, a $115 million community school in East Orange designed to be the cornerstone of revitalization efforts in the Essex County city's Main Street area.
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Ms. Tyson, the Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated actress, was among the guest speakers. Others included East Orange educators, local and state officials and representatives of the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation (SCC), which is providing the funding for the performing arts magnet community school combining the Cicely Tyson School of Fine and Performing Arts and the acclaimed Washington Academy of Music. There also were performances by choirs of the Tyson School and Washington Academy.
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The 309,000-square-foot school will accommodate 1,300 students from pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. It will be built on the site of the former East Orange High School, which is being razed to create an 11-acre campus in the area of Main and North Walnut streets. There will be separate buildings for pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten children, and students in 1st-through-4th grades, 5th-through-8th grades and 9th through 12th grades.
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Choirs of the Cicely Tyson School for the Performing Arts and Washington Academy
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East Orange Mayor Robert L. Bowser stated, "The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Cicely Tyson School for the Fine and Performing Arts is a proud achievement for our great city. This development is a critical component in our efforts to revitalize our city by fostering the strategic redevelopment of Lower Main and Walnut Street into a new vibrant neighborhood and commercial corridor. I take great pride in the unprecedented team effort between the City and the East Orange School District to design a plan that merges the city's vision for redevelopment with the needs of the school district. A plan that will provide state of the art facilities for our children and our citizens and a plan that ultimately won the SCC's designation as a Schools Demonstration site."
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Superintendent Dr. Laval S. Wilson said, "The East Orange School District is among a small number of school districts nationwide that has partnered with other public and private agencies to fund, build and operate a world-class performing arts facility for its students and community."
Jerry Murphy, SCC Chief Operating Officer, said, "Through the Demonstration Projects here in East Orange and throughout the State, we are building community-oriented, 21st century schools that will spur a resurgence of growth and economic revitalization within urban neighborhoods."
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Gerald Murphy, COO, NJ Schools Construction, Dr. Laval S. Wilson, Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Cicely Tyson,
Mayor Robert L. Bowser, City of East Orange, Ms. Patricia M. Hall,President, East Orange BOE, Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver
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Murphy noted the State has approved six Demonstration Projects as community development initiatives with schools serving as anchors to attract new housing and retail opportunities. Projects already are under way in Vineland and Union City, with others on tap for Camden, Trenton and New Brunswick. The school component of each project is funded by the SCC.
The East Orange project is being co-developed by the city and school district of East Orange, Triad Associates and Joseph Jingoli & Son, Inc.
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