By Allison Musante,Staff Writer
PLAINSBORO Renovations are officially under way for the Princeton Center for Arts and Education, which will unite the American Boychoir School, the French American School of Princeton and the Wilberforce School into one collaborative campus slated to open this August.
Since the announcement on Feb. 22 that the three institutions were coming together to share funding and resources, founding Executive Director Karl Held said site and zoning planning have begun as well as the first phase of renovations to the seven-building campus of the former St. Joseph’s Seminary at 75 Mapleton Road.
”Phase one is focused on bringing the entire campus up to American Disabilities Act compliance, which involves adding elevators and ramps for access, adding new lighting and signage,” Mr. Held said.
The interiors of two buildings will be renovated to accommodate new, state-of-the-art classroom space for science and technology classes as well as performing and rehearsal space.
Other on-campus amenities will include athletic and recreational spaces, offices, an exhibition gallery, a cafeteria and dormitories.
The Boychoir School would be the only residential boarding school on the campus.
”One of the most exciting aspects of the creation of PCAE and the Boychoir’s move to this lovely campus is the new performance space provided by the existing chapel,” Mr. Held said.
The neo-gothic chapel was built in 1934 and has ideal acoustics, he said. The site’s existing gymnasium will be used for its performance stage.
Last year, Mr. Held, president of the Boychoir School and a Tony nominated Broadway producer, joined the PCAE task force, and originally intended to find a new site for expanding the Boychoir School. Mr. Held has a background in building arts organizations in Pennsylvania and New York City.
”I’m thrilled to be at the helm of this project,” he said. “It’s a great addition to the Princeton-Plainsboro community that will add a lot to the rich cultural heritage of the area.”
Part of the vision is to expand enrollment at the three schools. Mr. Held said he hopes to see the Boychoir School’s enrollment jump from 66 students to upwards of 75 by the school’s 75th anniversary in 2013.
The French American School, an independent nonprofit institution founded in 2000, will move its 110 students and 12 faculty members to the new campus. Students at the co-educational day school include French citizens, French-American dual-citizens and citizens from other countries. Faculty, parents and students represent about 25 countries and 15 different languages.
”We are all very excited to be part of this,” said Corinne Gungor, head of the school. “It’s an interesting project not only because it’s going to combine arts and education, but because we are three very different schools. The benefits to the students from a social point of view would be sharing in these supportive events together, sharing music and having more activities related to the arts.”
The school offers classes from preschool to sixth grade, with plans to create a seventh-grade class in September and an eighth-grade class next year. Ms. Gungor said she hasn’t decided what will become of the school’s building on Carter Road.
The Wilberforce School, a private Christian school, plans to bring all of its 100 students and 15 faculty members to the new campus, according to Howe Whitman Jr., head of the school.
”We’ve already developed a strong relationship with the other leaders, who are wonderful and creative educators,” Mr. Whitman said. “This is going to be a vibrant educational community.”
He said the school would give up its space on River Road, which it leases from the Princeton Church of Christ.
”I think it’s exciting that the St. Joseph’s campus is finally being used again,” he added. “We’re going to breathe new life into this beautiful campus.”
Mr. Held said he plans to recruit additional arts institutions to the center in the future, either to occupy office space or to use the performance facilities. He said he has already heard from several institutions, but he declined to give specific names until they have confirmed in the next few weeks.
In terms of funding the project, Mr. Held said he and the PCAE board are in the process of developing a capital campaign strategy later in the spring.
”But our more immediate needs are finishing raising the necessary monies to complete phase one renovations,” he said.
He added that the Boychoir School is in the process of selling its current estate on Lambert Drive, the proceeds from which would go into the school’s endowment.
To celebrate the transition, the Boychoir School is holding its first concert at the chapel of the new campus at 4 p.m. on April 10.
”This will be the first opportunity for the greater Princeton community to visit the campus and experience the excellent acoustics for live musical performances during our joint Alumni Chorus and American Boychoir concert,” Mr. Held said.

