E. W. Howell breaks ground on 105,000 s/f school in Brooklyn

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 4 for the PS /IS 338 School. Located at 21 Hinckley Place, the new primary/intermediate school will be built to accommodate 750 students in 105,000 gross s/f on five floors with a partial cellar. The groundbreaking event was attended by public school officials, community leaders and other elected officials. E.W. Howell, an industry leader in construction will serve as the general contractor on the project which is scheduled to open in September 2017. "This is the third project we're currently building for the N.Y.C. School Construction Authority, and we're proud to have the opportunity to provide this Brooklyn community with a state-of-the-art school," said Jack Hagen, senior project executive at E.W. Howell. Designed by Purcell Architects, this new PS/IS incorporates a full program for Pre-K through eighth grades. The square footage requirements of the program for this school required the entire site to be developed. The school structure is situated along Coney Island Ave. with the main entrances to the school from Hinckley Place and Turner Place. Spaces will include science rooms, music and dance spaces, a library, full gymnasium and "gymatorium" (combination auditorium/recreational area). In addition, there will be outdoor recreational spaces that will include an early childhood playground and a schoolyard for older students. The building is set back from Coney Island Avenue to provide a buffer for the school from the sidewalk and street. The side streets allow for a drop off area for school buses along with a wider sidewalk to ease the congestion at the beginning and end of the school day.