FREEHOLD – A $33 million construction project in the Freehold Borough K-8 School District that is expanding the district’s facilities to address the issue of student overcrowding is expected to conclude by the end of the year. Work on the project began in 2017.
Freehold Borough is comprised of three schools and two facilities. The district’s three schools are the Freehold Learning Center elementary school, Dutch Lane Road, the Park Avenue Elementary School, Park Avenue, and the Freehold Intermediate School, Park Avenue.
The Park Avenue Elementary School and the Freehold Intermediate School share the same facility at the Park Avenue Complex.
From 2007-17, enrollment increased from 1,363 pupils to 1,700 pupils. The construction project will increase classroom space to 1,589 students, which will still leave the schools over capacity, but will put less of a strain on classrooms, according to district administrators.
On July 17, representatives of New Road Construction Management provided Board of Education members with an update on the project.
Construction at both sites is currently in its third phase, which began on June 21 and is scheduled to continue until Aug. 31. The fourth and final phase of construction at the two sites is scheduled to begin on Sept. 1 and conclude at the end of the year, according to the presentation.
At the Park Avenue Complex, the third phase consists of the commencement and the completion of site work, the substantial completion of classrooms and the substantial completion of renovated spaces. District personnel will be able to return to the completed spaces. A library, new kitchen, cafeteria and one classroom will be completed as work enters the fourth phase.
The fourth phase will consist of the initiation of final traffic flow, the substantial completion of the remaining areas, the final completion of all work, and field restoration and seeding.
The third phase at the Freehold Learning Center consists of the completion of site work, the substantial completion of classroom additions and the substantial completion of interior renovations.
The fourth phase will consist of the substantial completion of the kitchen, the final completion of all work and substantial completion of the last block of classrooms.
As of the date of the presentation, steel had been erected, including at the entrance canopy, concrete masonry unit walls were nearly complete, and demolition in the principal’s office had been completed at the front entrance of the Park Avenue Complex.
For an information technology addition, concrete masonry unit walls were nearly complete and a roof deck had been installed. Demolition was nearly completed at the old library, and old window openings had been infilled with masonry.
At the new gymnasium, library and media center of the Park Avenue Complex, exterior masonry is complete, insulation is being installed, and domestic and sanitary piping is completed to locker rooms and restrooms. The demolition of four air handlers at the old gym is complete and new duct work is hung. Ceiling tiles and light fixtures have been replaced and new ventilators have been placed with new connections underway at existing classrooms. As part of the renovations, all new concrete masonry unit walls have been erected.
Interior and exterior masonry and roofing other than metal is complete and duct work and kitchen exhaust hoods are hung as part of a cafeteria addition at the Park Avenue Complex. Additionally, as of the presentation, a new power transformer had been set and delivered, old lockers had been removed to be replaced by new lockers, and most new rooftop HVAC units had been set into place.
At one block of the Freehold Learning Center, steel work is complete and masonry work is 65 percent complete. Interior masonry is complete, exterior brick is being installed, duct work has been installed and insulated, the painting of the walls is 80 percent complete, and ceiling installation has begun at another block. An additional block has seen the completion of interior masonry, the installation of exterior brick and the installation of kitchen duct work.
Further work at the Freehold Learning Center will consist of installing concrete curbs for new driveway and parking areas, installing a new water line through the school, making space for a new cafeteria and installing site lighting.
The additions and alterations at the Park Avenue Complex are being performed by G&P Parlamas. The additions and alterations at the Freehold Learning Center are being performed by Newport Construction.