Schools Development Authority Officials Break Ground for New George
Washington Carver Elementary School in East Orange

EAST ORANGE, NJ – The New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) joined East Orange School District officials, students, and local officials today to break ground for the new George Washington Carver Elementary School. Once completed, the school will be the fourth new facility built by the SDA in East Orange.

"Today's groundbreaking ceremony celebrates the start of construction for a new community school in East Orange that will provide generations of students with an exceptional facility and the educational spaces they need to learn and grow," said SDA CEO Charles McKenna. "We are confident that students, staff and community members will be pleased with the new school when it opens in 2020."

The new 77,000 square-foot George Washington Carver Elementary School will provide the East Orange School District with space to educate 470 students in grades Prekindergarten to five. The school will include 24 general classrooms, two self-contained special education classrooms, a science lab, a cafeteria, multi-purpose room with stage, a media center, a music room, an art room, a technology lab and necessary support spaces.

The school is being built using the design-build approach. This method differs from the traditional approach in that SDA contracts with one firm for both design and construction of a school facilities project. The design-build method also allows for some design and construction activities to proceed concurrently through phased advancement, an approach that allows for improvement upon the original overall schedule.

This project also involved the demolition of the former George Washington Carver Elementary School facility in preparation for the new school construction. That early site preparation work was completed in the first quarter of 2017.

Dobco, Inc. of Wayne was awarded a $26.9 million design-build contract for the design and construction of the school. As part of the design-build contract, NK Architects of Morristown is finalizing the design for the new school. STV Construction, Inc. of New York is the construction manager for the project. The total estimated project cost is $41.2 million.

The SDA has invested more than $269 million in completed projects in East Orange alone since the inception of the school construction program. Its current portfolio of active projects is valued at approximately $2 billion – including the Capital Project portfolio, emergent projects, and Regular Operating District grants.