Rendering (Urbahn Architects)
Dec. 12, 2017 By Tara Law
City officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking Friday to mark the construction of a new building that will bring 26 classrooms to a Forest Hills elementary school.
The 4-story addition is going up at P.S. 144, located at 93-02 69th Ave., at a cost of $52.4 million and is expected to be completed by September 2019.
The addition is intended to ease overcrowding at the school and to meet projected population growth in the district, said Ben Goodman, a spokesperson for the New York City School Construction Authority. The existing school serves 894 students in grades Pre-K to 5.
The new building will accommodate 590 students and will replace the outdoor trailer where some students attend class.
The addition will be adjacent to the existing four-story, L-shaped school building that was constructed in 1931, which sits on a 2.1-acre site. The two buildings will be connected on all flour floors through expansion joints.
The new building will connect seamlessly with the hallways in the old building. Some of the deficiencies of the existing building will be repaired.
The façade of the new building will be designed to fit with the brick appearance of the existing building.
The new building features a new entrance, 26 classrooms, an administrative area, a medical suite, science resource room, an outdoor play area and a cafeteria.
Pre-K and kindergarten classrooms will be constructed on the first and second floors of the new building. Standard classrooms will be built on the third and fourth floors to accommodate second and fourth graders.
A new kitchen and cafeteria will be located in the cellar of the addition.
The new building will be fully ADA complaint and air-conditioned.
The existing building will also undergo renovations, including changes to make the building ADA accessible. Two new art classrooms will be added, and the exercise room, guidance suite, auditorium and four classrooms will be renovated.
Urbahn Architects of Manhattan is the designer.
Rendering Urbahn Architects
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