Plans are underway for the construction of a 476-seat elementary school to address overcrowding issues in downtown Manhattan.
The new school will be built at 77 Greenwich Street, announced The New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) in a news release on Thursday, Jan. 14. The SCA made a framework deal with Trinity Place Holdings Inc, a real estate company, to build the school within its new mixed-used development project. The design for the school is expected to be completed this summer.
“Today is a big step in the community’s long push for a simple idea — school capacity should grow as a neighborhood grows, not after a crisis has hit,” State Senator Daniel Squadron says in the release.
The announcement came as welcome news to the Overcrowding School Task Force. According to reports, the task force has been pushing for more school seats downtown for years in response to the overburdening of its current facilities. District 1 city council member Margaret Chin, a member of the task force quoted in the release, says the announcement is a victory for parents and leaders in lower Manhattan.
“As a longtime member of the School Overcrowding Task Force, I am particularly happy that the City is now moving forward with plans for a new school at Trinity Place and Edgar Street that will provide much-needed seats for our growing residential neighborhoods downtown,” Chin says.
The SCA says in its announcement that recommendations for this location came from parents and leaders in the community. Trinity Place Holdings’ proposed development is an 80 story tower, and will house retail space, condominiums and a hotel in addition to the new public elementary school. It will be built on the site of the former Syms Department Store and will neighbor the Robert and Ann Dickey House, a city landmark. The development also includes plans to redesign the Berger Elizabeth Plaza into park south of the elementary school’s entrance.
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