SCHOOLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY CELEBRATES THE REOPENING OF THE "NEW"
PAUL ROBESON COMMUNITY THEME SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS

OCTOBER 19, 2018 – NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – The New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) joined New Brunswick Public Schools for an open house celebration at the Paul Robeson Community Theme School for the Arts. During the open house, guests toured the new facility, heard from some of the project stakeholders and enjoyed student performances. The school’s address is 199 Commercial Avenue in New Brunswick.

"The expansion of the Paul Robeson School was completed successfully due to the SDA's productive partnership with the New Brunswick School District, local officials and our construction partners," said Lizette Delgado Polanco, SDA's CEO. "It was an honor to work with the community to construct this elementary school addition that will help to improve the quality of life and education for children enrolled here."

The project delivered a 60,500 square-foot, three-story addition that provided a new multi-purpose room, 30 new classrooms, four small group instruction rooms, and two Basic Skills/ESL classrooms. The 59,400 squarefoot existing school was also renovated. A fire sprinkler system was added and renovations/rearrangements were completed in the food service area, media center, nurse’s office, main office and student services suite. Providing more than 400 additional seats with the school addition, the project benefits approximately 900 students overall currently in grades K through eight.

"The refurbishment of Paul Robeson Community School for the Arts – a two-year project made possible by support from the New Jersey Schools Development Authority – has created an exceptional learning environment for our students," said Dr. Aubrey Johnson, Superintendent of New Brunswick Public Schools. "We're delighted with this opportunity to show it off to the community, particularly to accomplished local artists from whom our young people can learn so much."

The school's addition is on track to be submitted for the United States Green Building Council – Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED ®) Silver certification. In pursuit of this certification, the design builder incorporated different LEED elements into the design including solar panels, energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems.

This project employed SDA’s design-build methodology, which enables the Authority to contract with one company for both design and construction services. This approach allows for some design and construction activities to occur simultaneously through phased advancement. Hall Construction Co., Inc. of Farmingdale, New Jersey was awarded the design-build contract for $32 million in October 2015. As part of the designbuild contract, PS&S Engineering, PC of Warren, New Jersey was the project architect. GREYHAWK North America LLC. of Mount Laurel, New Jersey was the construction manager. The total estimated project costs were $48.5 million.

The Paul Robeson School is the latest in the SDA’s portfolio of completed projects in the New Brunswick Public Schools District. To date, the SDA has invested more than $313 million in completed projects in New Brunswick including five capital projects.

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: Facebook; Instagram; LinkedIn; or Twitter.