May 21, 2020 – Plans for the renovation of Jefferson Elementary School were presented to the Land Use and Building Management Committee and construction is set to begin in the Fall. The $33-million project, which includes creating a new gymnasium and more classroom space, will require about one year of construction, and will relocate Jefferson students to Ponus Ridge Middle School for two years until construction is completed. “The project is currently on schedule,” said Jim Giuliano, program manager with Construction Solutions Group.
“We are currently in design development,” said Michael LoSasso, project architect with Bridgeport-based Antinozzi Associates, expecting they will be completed in June. “We will anticipate going to the state for review at the end of this year,” he said. LoSasso said, “it’s a very challenging site in many regards,” noting the building’s position built into a hillside creates issues with construction. There will be a new playground for preschoolers added in the front, and another play area will be created in the new bus loop for older students, along with an adjacent community garden space.
“This is an existing building, so we kept the structure,” said Lisa Yates, of Antinozzi Associates. “But with the interior layout and the walls, we were able to make some pretty big changes.” She described how the administrative offices would be moved to the left of the main entrance on the first floor, which will also include the preschool, kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. The second floor, which will house second and third grades, will include a new kitchen and expanded cafeteria space, with a new hand-washing station. Art and music rooms will also be located there. “Our resource classrooms are all capable of being multi-purposed,” Yates said. The third floor will include the new gymnasium.
Read the full article by Jarret Liotta at ctinsider.com