The new public school planned for 42 Trinity Place, in the Financial District, is now likely to open up to three years behind its originally proposed schedule, according to a discussion at the March meeting of Community Board 1 (CB1).
“Demolition started in February, 2016 and they expect that part to wrap up this summer,” Patrick Kennell, chair of CB1’s Planning Committee, said at the March 28 session. “The School Construction Authority says the developer expects to deliver the core and shell in the second half of 2019. Because it is an 18-month buildout for the school, sadly, the School Construction Authority now says there will be occupancy of the school in September, 2022.”
An architect’s rendering of the new residential tower planned for 42 Trinity Place, which will rise 38 stories and 500 feet, and include a new public school at its base.
In January, 2016, the Authority — the City agency that manages the design, construction and renovation of educational facilities — announced an agreement with Trinity Place Holdings, the company that owns the site of the now-defunct Syms discount clothing store, to build a new elementary school with 476 seats. At that time, formal dates for the start of construction or the opening of the school were not announced announced. Both milestones were understood to be contingent on the larger development project of which the school will be one component — an apartment tower expected to top out at 38 floors and 500 feet, with space for the school carved out on the first eight floors.
But officials said soon after the announcement that they hoped construction would be completed in early 2018, at which time the School Construction Authority (SCA) could take possession of the space, and begin finishing the interior. An aggressive schedule would have thus enabled the school to open in September, 2019.
But delays in design work and demolition of the old Syms store have delayed this timetable. Trinity Place Holdings now hopes to complete demolition of the existing structure sometime in mid-2017, and begin construction of the new tower before the end of this year. That would mean that the earliest date at which the space could be delivered to SCA would be late 2019, with the result that the school cannot open before September, 2022.
A rendering of the new subway entrance (including an elevator) to the Rector Street station of the R train that the developers of the new apartment tower are funding.
In a separate development related to the new building, Mr. Kennell noted that Trinity Place Holdings has allocated $10 million to create a new entrance to the R train’s Rector Street subway station, at the base of the planned tower, which will include an elevator. “They received no height bonus for doing this,” Mr. Kennell noted.