Chancellor Klein Unveils Design of Two New Midtown Schools to Be Built with Private...

Chancellor Klein Unveils Design of Two New Midtown Schools to Be Built with Private Investment

Educational Construction Fund Project Will Create State-of-the-Art
School Buildings for PS 59 and the High School of Art and Design

City's First "Green" School to Add 500 New Seats to District 2
after PS 59 Moves into New Complex
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today unveiled architectural
designs for two new school buildings in Midtown Manhattan that will be
built with private investment. The estimated $200 million cost of
construction for PS 59 and the High School of Art and Design on East
57th Street will be paid for by private developers as part of a
partnership with the Department of Education's Educational
Construction Fund (ECF), which develops mixed-use real estate projects
featuring new school facilities.

In addition, PS 59's temporary location, which is newly renovated
and the City's first "green" school building, will become home to a
new school when the 57th Street project is completed and PS 59 moves
into its permanent building. Chancellor Klein was joined at the
unveiling at the temporary site of PS 59, on East 63rd Street, by
Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, ECF Executive Director Jamie Smarr,
School Construction Authority President Sharon Greenberger, World-Wide
Group Partner David Lowenfeld, State Senator Liz Kruger, Manhattan
Borough President Scott Stringer, Councilmembers Daniel Garodnick and
Jessica Lappin, PS 59 Principal Adele Schroeter, and High School of
Art and Design Principal Scott Feltzin.

"This innovative project represents our largest public-private
partnership to date and points to the future of school construction in
New York City," Chancellor Klein said. "The result will be beautifully
designed schools with modern technology that enhance our students'
education and relieve overcrowding across the City."

"The World-Wide Group has a long and successful record of
innovative ventures and we are pleased to have the opportunity to work
with the City administration on a project that will vastly improve the
quality of the educational experience through the creation of three
new schools," said David Lowenfeld of World-Wide Group, the project's
developer. "This project is a win for all parties involved, delivering
three schools while at the same time enhancing 57th Street's long-term
viability as a residential and retail center."

"We are always looking for innovative ways to improve our schools,
and this mixed-use project is a great example," Deputy Chancellor of
Finance and Administration Kathleen Grimm said. "Through the
Educational Construction Fund we lease air rights in exchange for the
construction of a new school building; in this case we will have three
new school buildings."

"I am proud to be a part of ECF's rebirth," ECF Executive Director
Jamie Smarr said. "The agency, once dormant, is now an integral part
of the Bloomberg Administration's historic school construction efforts
across New York City."

The new school complex on 57th Street, located at the intersection
of Second Avenue, will cover 300,000 square feet. The new building for
PS 59 will have 730 seats, allowing the school to accommodate 300 more
students. The new building for High School of Art and Design will have
1,400 seats, with classrooms arranged along a "gallery path" to
promote student works. The entire 57th Street project will cover
nearly 1,000,000 square feet, with a 59-story residential tower and
170,000 square feet of retail space. The mixed-use facility and
on-site schools are being designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP.

The temporary site of PS 59, which moved from its longtime
location on 57th Street to allow for construction on the new project,
was formerly a nursing dormitory for Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat
Hospital. It was renovated by World-Wide Group and designed by
architectural firm Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn, using the School
Construction Authority's "Green" guidelines and is the first school
building to conform to the School Construction Authority's "Green"
standards. The building is designed to maximize daylight, reduce water
consumption through the use of metered faucets and dual-flush toilets,
and was constructed with cleaner materials to improve air quality. It
will eventually be used as a new, 500 seat school in District 2,
bringing the total number of new seats being created under this
partnership to 830.

The new school buildings are scheduled to open in 2012. The school
portion of the mixed-use project will be financed via tax exempt bonds
issued by ECF. In ECF projects, the developer repays the bonds in
return for rights to develop a site that includes new school
construction along with commercial and residential space. The
World-Wide Group is leasing the 57th Street site from ECF for 75
years.

The development will take place in two phases. Phase I, a
three-year period, includes the development and construction of the
two new schools and 65,000 square feet of retail space. Whole Foods
has leased 47,000 square feet of the retail facilities to be built in
this phase.

Phase II involves the design and construction of a new, mixed-use
portion that features approximately 320 for-sale and rental
residential units, and 100,000 square feet of retail space.

Since its creation by the State Legislature in 1967, ECF has
constructed 15 projects in New York City that include 18,000 school
seats, 1.2 million square feet of office space, and 4,500 apartments.

The World-Wide Group and its affiliates are privately held
investment companies based in New York City. The group has been
engaged in real estate development for over half a century. With a
reputation for successfully tackling complex urban development
opportunities, World-Wide has developed over $3 billion worth of new
luxury residential properties in New York City, including 255 East
74th Street, Milan, 50 Murray Street, 53 Park Place, 88 Greenwich
Street, 71 Broadway, The Steiner Building in Chelsea and The Reade
Street Condominiums in Tribeca.

The Marino Organization Inc.
Lee Silberstein / John Marino, 212-889-0808

Copyright Business Wire 2008