LAN Associates recently joined officials from the Schools Development Authority, Keansburg school district leaders and others for a ceremonial groundbreaking on a project to expand and renovate the district’s Port Monmouth Road School. — Courtesy: LAN
By Joshua Burd
LAN Associates is touting the start of a project to expand and renovate a preschool in the Monmouth County borough of Keansburg.
The professional services firm, which is based in Midland Park, said the work at the district’s Port Monmouth Road School includes a 27,500-square-foot addition and upgrades to 19,000 square feet of existing space. When complete, the new-look facility will serve more than 300 preschool students.
The LAN design team recently joined officials from the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, Keansburg school district leaders and others for a ceremonial groundbreaking.
“It was great to see shovels in the ground on a project that will fill such a vital need,” said Stephen J. Secora, a vice president and project manager with LAN. “We are one step closer to moving students from the temporary classrooms they attend school in now, to a fully renovated and expanded building designed exclusively to meet the needs of Keansburg’s youngest learners.”
In a news release, LAN said the one-story addition and renovation will provide 21 new preschool rooms, a 1,400-square-foot food service area and upgrades to the main office, the motor skills room and the nurses’ suite. A large courtyard bordering the school’s wings will provide a connection to nature for students as well as a source of natural light to adjacent classrooms, the firm said, adding that neighboring classrooms will have secondary exits that also go directly to the outdoor space.
The team also noted that every classroom has been designed with flexible space to accommodate learning areas for dramatic play, art, music and movement, science and discovery, reading and other activities. For the existing space, plans call for capital improvements such as new HVAC systems, masonry repairs and upgraded interior finishes, ceilings, lighting, fire alarms and sprinklers.
The SDA is funding the roughly $28.4 million project, with Niram Inc. serving as its contractor, the news release said. It’s expected to be complete and open to students by fall 2022.
