Consultants Recommend Expansion At Princeton Schools. What Will It Cost?

PRINCETON, NJ – On Tuesday, the Board of Education heard a report from its consultants and long-term planning committee on the recommended path for expanding elementary and middle school.

With more than 1,100 new residential units planned in the Municipality, the school district needs to expand its facilities to accommodate more students.

The presentation was made by professional planner Mike Zuba of SLAM Engineering and architect George Duthie of FVHD.

The planners looked at four main approaches to evaluate the process — status quo (to not make any change; dual track school; 5-6 School (PK-4/5-6/7-8/9-12) and sister school (PK-2/3-5 ).

These approaches were evaluated by assessing educational impact, operational costs, construction costs, enrollment balancing & future growth, community disruption and walkability.

In October 2023, a dual-track model at Community Park School, with 5 sections/grades was the favored approach. But since then the planning has evolved, to reflect further study and input from the community, district educators, new architects, and planner.

The current path recommended by the team is to expand/update Community Park, Littlebrook and Princeton Middle School.

According to the planners, the expansion and updates would better satisfy “planning parameters and balances objectives.”

If implemented the plan would add six new classrooms and core space and CP and LB; six new classrooms, a science lab and space for the IT Department at PMS; maintain Dual Language Immersion Program at CP; provide HVAC renovation at Princeton High School and proceed with demolition and site development of the original section of the former Valley Road School.

The estimated cost of the overall project has been estimated to be between $81 to $85 million. The largest amount, around $30 million, will go towards expansion at the middle school. The proposed additions to CP will cost between $24 to $25 million. Around $12 to $13 million will go towards Littlebrook, with $2.8 million earmarked for tech renovation, $9.6 million for the high school HVAC system and around $4.3 million for Valley Road demolition and site development.

As the scope of the project is refined, the estimated cost could change, Duthie said during the presentation.

The anticipated completion of the work is December 2027. But before that, a referendum will have to go before the public on in the fall of 2024.

The design and bidding process could take between October to 2024 to June 2025; construction and addition work could happen between August 2025 and May 2027. But again, these timelines are tentative and subject to change.

To watch the entire presentation, click here. Click here for the PPT presentation.

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