SDA Press Release - 09/06/2019
September 19, 2019
SDA Celebrates the Opening of the New Madison Avenue Elementary School in Irvington
TRENTON, NJ –The New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) joined Irvington School District leaders, students and state and local officials at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Madison Avenue Elementary School today, one of four new facilities opened by the SDA this September.
"We know that an important factor supporting student academic success is the educational space itself," said SDA Interim CEO Manuel Da Silva. "The new Madison Avenue Elementary School provides Irvington's current and future young scholars with a learning environment that will allow them to focus on achievement and success. Educators will now have the classrooms and resources they need to bring out the best in their students.""
The new Madison Avenue Elementary School is a 73,000-square-foot elementary school facility designed to educate approximately 500 students in grades pre-kindergarten through five. The school, built on the sight of the former school, includes 26 general education classrooms, small group instruction rooms, a cafeteria, a multipurpose room with stage, music and art rooms, a science/computer lab, and a media center. The school will also feature an outdoor play space that includes a basketball/volleyball court and running track.
"It is with extreme gratitude that I thank the Schools Development Authority for giving Irvington scholars the opportunity to learn in such a beautiful facility," said Irvington Superintendent Dr. Neely Hackett. "The Irvington Board of Education family is excited about the teaching and learning that will take place within the walls of Madison Avenue Elementary School as we prepare our scholars to be 21st century thinkers and learners."
As a result of SDA's commitment to building energy-efficient buildings that consider the surrounding environment, this school was built to be LEED (United States Green Building Council – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. The SDA anticipates that the new Madison Avenue Elementary School building will achieve a LEED Silver certification.
The school was built using a design-build approach. This method differs from the traditional approach in that SDA contracts with one firm for both the design and construction of a school facility project. Ernest Bock & Sons, Inc. was the design-build contractor, and worked in partnership with SSP Architectural Group on the design. The project was managed by Epic Management, Inc. The total estimated SDA project cost for the new school is $38.6 million.
The SDA has invested more than $151 million in completed projects in Irvington alone since the inception of the school construction program.
About the New Jersey Schools Development Authority
The SDA is the State agency responsible for fully funding and managing the new construction, modernization and
renovation of school facilities projects in 31 SDA Districts. Its current portfolio of active projects is valued
at approximately $2 billion – including the Capital Project portfolio, emergent projects and Regular Operating
District grants. Since the program’s inception, the SDA has provided funding for and management oversight of more
than 850 completed school facilities projects in SDA Districts and has executed more than 5,400 grants for Regular
Operating Districts throughout the State of New Jersey. For more information about the SDA, please visit our
website at:
www.njsda.gov
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