A large plot of vacant land in the middle of Jersey City will soon be home to a K-12 charter school campus as shovels are officially in the ground for an ambitious education project.
A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held for the Canal Crossing Charter School Campus, which Jersey Digs first reported on over two years ago. The effort comes courtesy of Friends of Quality Education, an organization that is headed by former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler.
The plan will transform a battleship-shaped parcel at 79 Caven Point Avenue into the new home for both BelovED Community Charter School and the Empowerment Academy Charter School. Designed by KSS Architects, the charter education campus will create over 2,000 new student seats that will be open to Jersey City’s entire public school district.
The Canal Crossing Charter School Campus will include one 69,000-square-foot Elementary School designed for 720 students plus a 35,000-square-foot Middle School to serve 360 pupils. The remaining two buildings total 89,000 square feet and will be dedicated as high schools with combined space for 960 students.
The high schools will both feature state-of-the-art facilities including fully outfitted chemistry, biology, physics, and technology labs, a maker space for the study of robotics, electronics, CAD-based design, and 3-D printing, an art room with a potter’s wheel and kiln, and a large college and career counseling suite.
Other major components of the campus include a triple-sized gymnasium, a 500-seat auditorium, a digital production studio, and a rooftop deck to feature a synthetic field plus a children’s playground. The entire campus will be built to meet LEED Silver requirements.
The property surrounding the buildings will also get a big upgrade, as the project includes a “park-like” atmosphere for future students including an 82,000-square-foot commons area with shared spaces. The Greenway segment of the plan will consist of a lushly landscaped walkway and bikeway adjacent to the campus’ main driveway.
A 343-space parking deck is included beneath and adjacent to the commons section, and the developer will be constructing a walkway along a portion of the Morris Canal Greenway on a neighboring parcel that is owned by the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency as part of the work.
Friends of Quality Education noted during the groundbreaking ceremony that local taxpayers will not be funding any portion of the construction. The organization has contracted Gilbane Building Company to prepare the site for facility construction, work that has just begun.
Friends of Quality Education is presently distributing bid package materials to firms interested in providing construction management services and anticipates selecting a Facilities Construction Manager in mid-June. The entirety of the Canal Crossing Charter School Campus is anticipated to open in time for the school year starting in September 2027.
