Real Estate Journal — Owners, Developers & Managers — June 24 - July 14, 2016 — 13B
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M id A tlantic
O wners , D evelopers & M anagers Lakhani & Jordan Engineers, P.C. serves as The M/E/P engineer Urbahn Architects completes 25,700 s/f addition to Jersey City’s BelovED Community Charter
ERSEY CITY, NJ – The New York City architec- tural and planning firm of Urbahn Architects has completed a ground-up addi- tion to the BelovED Commu- nity Charter School in Jersey City. Located at 508 Grand St., the three-story, 25,700 s/f, $5.1 million addition houses 240 students in grades K-5. Estab- lished in 2012 by city residents with the assistance of Bret Schundler, a former Mayor of Jersey City and former Com- missioner of Education for the State of New Jersey, BelovED is named in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of the “Beloved Community.” The school currently serves 720 students. Schundler, who serves as chairman of the BelovED Community Charter School Foundation, said, “The great interest among Jersey City families in enrolling children in our school has allowed us to expand the student body by 120 children every year. This rapidly growing enrollment created the need for additional facilities. Urbahn Architects, which also designed the origi- nal BelovED school structure, has created a wonderful class- room and gymnasium addition that will serve children for years to come. The design ac- commodated both our budget and functional needs.” “The addition houses 14 general and specialty class- rooms, a cafeteria, an exercise room, offices, and support fa- cilities. The design of the new structure reflects the architec- ture of the original building. It also accommodates the increased flood protection requirements implemented in Jersey City following Hur- ricane Sandy,” said Urbahn principal, Donald Henry, Jr., AIA, LEED AP . The original building, de- signed by Urbahn’s principal, Marty Stein , AIA, and com- pleted in 2000, served 360 K-2 students in BelovED’s first year. However, with additional grade levels scheduled and enrollment set to rise by 120 students per year, Schundler states that they decided to commission an addition that would not only accommodate the extra students, but also the specialty rooms needed in a K-5 school. Moreover, while high quality space was impor- tant, the design also had to be cost-efficient because Jersey City charter schools receive J
only about half as much in per-student funding as the lo- cal public school district and, unlike the local school district, are responsible for the cost of their facilities. The M/E/P engineer was Lakhani & Jordan Engi- neers, P.C. ; the structural en- gineer was Consulting Engi- neers Collaborative ; and the civil engineer was Derosier Engineering, LLC . Hollister Construction Services, LLC served as the general contrac- tor. The facility expansion was financed by Highmark Schools Development Cor- poration , based in Murray,
Utah, in partnership with an arm of EPR Properties, a New York Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trust. The addition, built after Hurricane Sandy, conforms to the recommendations of the most current FEMA flood maps. Thus, Urbahn raised the first floor of the addition five feet above grade. Also, the team specified “breakaway” panels to skirt the space un- derneath. In the event of a flood, the panels will break away and allow the floodwa- ters to pass through the site rather than transfer their force to the façade. n
508 Grand St.
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