20,000 NYC Schools Seats to be Added by September

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein recently announced the addition of 20,000 new classroom seats, which will be ready for the opening of schools this September, marking the largest one-year expansion of classroom capacity since the School Construction Authority was established in 1989. An additional 8,000 seats will be added by September 2004, bringing the total new seats to 28,000.
The Mayor and Chancellor also announced that 10 new Learning Support Centers will be established this summer in space currently occupied by district and other administrative offices.

GM to Invest $300 Million in Tonawanda Plant

General Motors will invest $300 million in facility upgrades, new tooling and flexible manufacturing equipment at its Tonawanda, N.Y., facility. The investment will allow GM to build a new line of high value, fuel-efficient V-6 engines at the Powertrain plant. Facility upgrades to the new 600,000-sq.-ft. plant are expected to start immediately, with completion by early 2004.

E. W. Howell Builds East Moriches School

E. W. Howell Co., Inc. is the general contractor for the new 73,000-sq.-ft. kindergarten through fourth grade elementary school project for the East Moriches Union Free School District. E. W. Howell was the low bidder on this $12 million project.

The single story building was designed by Burton Behrendt & Smith Architects, Patchogue, N.Y. The exterior façade is brick with a cultured stone wainscot and the roof is shingled with cupolas. Included in this state-of-the-art educational facility are a gymnasium, cafeteria and auditorium along with classrooms and staff offices.

The grounds will include a 10,000-sq.-ft. paved courtyard and a playground with a rubberized surface under the play structures, along with a multipurpose ballfield. The project is scheduled for completion in August of 2003.

Pavarini McGovern broke ground recently on the $45 million, 34-unit new residential building located at 3-9 Hubert St. and Collister Street in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan. Developed by WXII/Hubert Street LLC and led by Robert A. Siegel, president of Ghent Realty, Pavarini McGovern was awarded the construction management role. The project will be 16-stories and will include 29 loft-style apartments, a two-story penthouse, three maisonettes in the base as well as a two-story townhouse on Hubert Street and a three-story townhouse on Collister Street.

The 135,000-sq.-ft. building was designed by BKSK Architects, NYC.

Construction is under way at Scarsdale Commons, a new luxury rental apartment residence at 70 Garth Road. The grand opening is scheduled for this fall.

What makes this development different is that buyers can select their own fit-out materials, said Jeff Garson, Garson Brothers Development LLC, the developer, owner, builder and manager of Scarsdale Commons. Apartment owners can select at no extra charge from a selection of granite and marble, cabinet features and stains, crown moldings, paint colors and finishes.

Fusco Corp. Builds SCSU Student Center

Fusco Corp., New Haven, Conn., is completing the $25 million, 125,000-sq.-ft. student center at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. The center will include a Barnes & Noble bookstore, food court, game and fitness center, radio station, ballroom and study space. Jeter, Cook & Jepson, Hartford, Conn., is the architect. The project is slated for completion in the fall of 2004.

NASCAR Track Proposed for Linden

Developer Morton Salkind proposed building a $401 million NASCAR racetrack on an industrial site in Linden, N.J., according to The Star-Ledger of Newark.

The "Liberty Speedway" would feature a 100,000-seat grandstand - expandable to 140,000 seats - and a 0.92-mi. track in accordance with NASCAR regulations. Salkin's proposal also calls for the construction of a 400,000-sq.-ft. entertainment center and a 20-story hotel and conference center on the 140-acre site off the Arthur Kill, near the New Jersey Turnpike.

It would be the only NASCAR facility in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area.