Work Starts on $72M School Project

CAMDEN, NJ-Work is under way on the new Octavius V. Catto Community School and the adjacent Boys & Girls Club of Camden County, a project that’s part of a state demonstration project designed to promote redevelopment efforts in a half-dozen of New Jersey’s urban centers. In this case, the new pre-kindergarten through sixth grade school, which will replace an existing facility, is aimed at jumpstarting residential and retail development in this city’s East Camden neighborhood.

The new school’s $72-million price tag is being funded by the state. The New Jersey Economic Recovery Board, which is overseeing a redevelopment strategy for this South Jersey city of 100,000, is also providing a $1-million grant to assist the Boys & Girls Club in building its clubhouse as part of the project. The Boys & Girls Club will finance the rest of its cost, which has not been released.

“We are not only renovating a school, we are building on Camden’s revitalization,” says Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey. “Education is the cornerstone of this state’s future, and we are committed to providing safe, modern classrooms and improved facilities.”

“This project is the result of several partnerships, including local and state government, the educational community, as well as the not-for-profit sector,” says Caren Franzini, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

The 122,000-sf Catto School will have a capacity of about 540 students when it’s completed in about a year. Along with traditional classrooms, the facility will include a library/media center, auditorium and gymnasium. The attached Boys & Girls Club facility will add a 7,000-sf swimming pool and community meeting rooms to the project. The overall site will also have community accessible athletic fields and a 12-acre park.

The local project is the fourth of the six slated by the state, with work under way on similar facilities in Vineland, Union City and East Orange. The two others still to break ground will be in Trenton and New Brunswick.