$31M Expansion Begins At Essex County Newark Tech School

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of Essex County. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. was joined by Gov. Phil Murphy at the groundbreaking of a $31.7 million project to expand and modernize Essex County Newark Tech on Monday, June 28th. Essex County Newark Tech is the third school building in the Essex County Schools of Technology District to undergo renovations in the last five years.

“I am proud to be starting construction on our third school building in five years. When Newark Tech is completed, all of the buildings in our Vocational School district will be state-of-the-art and all of our students will have the most up to date resources to learn and prepare for their future,” DiVincenzo said.

“Constructing modern school facilities demonstrates our commitment to providing our students with a first class education and a foundation on which they can build their lives,” he added.

“Today capture the importance of education for our children. We come together and are talking about our children, education, the future of Newark and Essex County, and STEM. This school will go a long way toward achieving those aspirations,” Governor Phil Murphy said.

The project was welcomed with excitement from local elected officials and school district representatives.

“Anyone who knows me, knows that my policy is education. When we are opening the doors to a new facility like the one that will be built here, it is a great day,” NJ State Senator and Deputy Chief of Staff Teresa Ruiz said.

“This is another wonderful project that the administration has brought to us,” Commissioner President Wayne Richardson said.

“This is an exciting time in the Essex County Schools of Technology and we have County Executive DiVincenzo to thank. In just a few short years, he dramatically improved our district with modern buildings that were designed to accommodate our diverse curriculum and space that can be adapted for new uses as our curriculum evolves,” Essex County Schools of Technology Superintendent Dr. James Pedersen said.

“Thank you to Governor Murphy and County Executive DiVincenzo. They are not just building a new school. They are building the foundation for the future of our youth,” Essex County College President Dr. Augustine Boakye said.

“Putting Essex County is more than just a slogan. I am proud that I have a role in helping young people coming to our schools,” Deputy Chief of Staff William Payne said.

“The County Executive listens to everyone. When the students asked for a gym, Joe built a gym. Now he has listened to them again and this new addition is becoming a reality. Thank you, Joe, for your vision for Essex County and our schools,” Essex County Schools of Technology Board Vice President Adrianne Davis said.

“What an exciting time us to be part of this historic moment. This is just the latest example of how County Executive DiVincenzo is putting students first. The new building will be another place where students will have the tools to prepare for the rest of their lives,” Newark Tech Principal Carmen Morales said.

“I am looking forward for this modern space to provide a greater opportunity for us to achieve greatness,” said Maya Nicole Ratzan, a rising sophomore at Newark Tech. “The new building will integrate new classrooms that can benefit more students,” said Andrew Baidoo, a rising sophomore at Newark Tech.

The centerpiece of the project is a three-story, 16,500-square-foot addition that will be construction in a parking lot behind the school on Lock Street. The addition will have a modern entry, new media center on the second floor and new cafeteria on the third floor. The larger media center and cafeteria will replace much smaller facilities which made scheduling classes logistically difficult because the rooms could not accommodate large numbers of students. For example, because of the small size of the cafeteria, some students were assigned lunch periods as early as 10 a.m.

The 165,000 square feet of space inside the existing school building will be completely overhauled. Two new physics labs, a new suite for the school nurse, a second TEAL (Technology Enhanced Active Learning) Center and general classrooms will be created. The existing cafeteria kitchen and serving area, faculty lounge, cabinetry lab and office spaces will be converted to support the TEAL Center. The renovation also includes the refurbishment of an existing wheelchair lift and freight elevator and the modernization of restrooms for students and staff. The entire building will receive a state-of-the-art HVAC system, fire alarm system, upgraded electrical system and audio-visual and IT systems.

DiCara Rubino Architects from Wayne was awarded a $2,200,000 contract to design the addition and renovations. Epic Management from Piscataway was awarded a publicly bid contract for $28,509,000 to perform the construction. Jingoli and Sons from Lawrence was awarded a $999,069 contract for serve as the construction manager of the project.

Essex County Newark Tech is the third school building construction project undertaken by the County Executive within the last five years. Construction on the Essex County Donald M. Payne, Sr. School of Technology started in 2016 and lasted two years, with the school opening in 2018 at a cost of about $102 million. The $30 million project to expand and modernize the Essex County West Caldwell School of Technology started once the Payne School was completed. West Caldwell Tech was scheduled to welcome students in March 2021 but the opening was delayed because the school was used as a COVID-19 vaccination center. Construction at Essex County Newark Tech is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2022.

Ninety percent of the costs for the school construction projects is being reimbursed with grants from the State of New Jersey. Essex County is only responsible for paying just 10 percent of the costs, which comes to about $16 million. Part of those costs will be offset with the sale of the old North 13th Street Tech in Newark and the old Bloomfield Tech in Bloomfield, which were closed after the opening of the Donald Payne School.

Major additions to Newark Tech that were made in the past include the construction of the TEAL Center in 2013 and the new gymnasium that opened in 2007.

The Essex County Vocational Technical School District is New Jersey's first and one of its largest Vocational Technical School Systems. Created in 1914, the school system provides both occupational and academic instruction for high school and adult students in Essex County. The district has four high schools: Bloomfield Tech, Newark Tech, North 13th Street Tech and West Caldwell Tech. In addition, the system provides adult programs in the evening at its Adult Training Center at Newark Tech. The district has an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students and provides high level state-of-the-art career skill development and academic opportunities in over 25 occupational areas. For more information on Essex County’s Vocational Technical Schools, visit www.essextech.org.

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