The Jersey City Planning Board voted Tuesday night to recommend construction of a Grand Street campus containing a new School 3 (elementary school) and a new middle school.
“This is a very good project,” said Board Chairman John Cardwell, after casting his yes vote. “The board of education is to be congratulated.”
Since the project is funded by the state of New Jersey, the Planning Board can only recommend or not recommend, according to board member Leon Yost.
“The board does not have the ability to disapprove a state-funded project,” Yost explained.
The project will replace the old School 3, located on Bright Street, and create a new middle school for the students. According board legal representative Charlotte Kitler, the $75 million project will be funded by Abbot School District money from the state and have 17 buildings. Jersey City is one of 30 Abbott School districts.
The Abbot designation was created by a ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court in the 1990s, which established the right of children in financially strapped urban communities to what it called a “thorough and efficient” education under our state constitution. This is said to include public schools that are safe and adequate.
Kitler said the board had decided to rearrange the grammar schools in Jersey City, moving the fifth graders from the downtown area schools to the new School 3 to be built on Grand Street. As for the new middle school, it will handle students from grades six to eight, Kitler added.
Warren Doty, principal architect on the project, said the campus would hold 1,500 students in 33 classrooms.
“The middle school will have an auditorium with stadium-style seating,” Doty said. “The elementary school will also have a performance space that will also have multipurpose rooms. There will also be a music room and new science labs.”
However, some problems came up when the plans for the new education campus were presented to the public. Thomas Ogorzaek, chairman of the construction committee of the Van Vorst Neighborhood Association, said that two major issues have arisen out of the outward appearance of the campus, especially where it faces busy Grand Street.
According to Ogorzaek, the original designs that were presented to the association include exteriors that do not blend with the color scheme of the rest of the neighborhood.
“They had a lot of bright colors and it’s important that the project reflect the tone of the neighborhood,” said Ogorzaek. “We supported something more muted. The colors of buildings in Van Vorst area are more red, brown, and brown oxide.”
Doty explained that the varied colors of the brick façade were to give the exterior of the campus a more fragmented look, as opposed to being a large collection of monolithic buildings.
However, the project designers agreed to tone down the exterior colors, according to Ogorzaek.
The association had fewer objections to the use of brighter-colored brick face in the interior of the campus.
“Most of the brighter-colored tile and brick face in the interior of the campus would be for play areas,” said Ogorzaek.
Ogorzaek mentioned that there had been some discussion about the yellow clock tower projected for the center of the campus, but the association decided to let the matter go.
“We wanted to let the project move forward,” said Ogorzaek.
Pleased with end result
Ogorzaek added that the Van Vorst community was largely pleased with the end result of about four months of discussion with the Board of Education and the builders.
“The builders were always very communicative with the neighborhood,” Ogorzaek commented. “We are pleased with the project.”
Ogorzaek noted that with the start of construction on the campus, representatives from the builders, Edwards and Kelcey, would speak at the next meeting of the Van Vorst Neighborhood Association on June 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Barrow Mansion on 83 Wayne St. The subject of the presentation will be on pile drivings and similar construction work which will start soon at the Grand Street location.
With the recommendation of the Planning Board, Doty expects the project will go out to bid at the end of June.
“We are expecting a September, 2005 opening for the School 3/Middle School campus,” Doty said.
Doty added that the campus project had a personal significance to him.
“I was born in Jersey City,” Doty explained at the Tuesday night meeting. “This is like coming home for me.”
Middle school approved Board recommends new education campus
