Avenel Elementary School’s $25M Expansion is Underway

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Construction of what will virtually be a new, state-of-the-art Avenel Elementary School officially got underway on Wednesday with youngsters joining municipal officials to break ground at the site.

The long-awaited Avenel Street School No. 4 & 5 redevelopment project is expected to cost $24.8 million and is funded with money remaining from a voter-approved 2020 school bond referendum.

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Work at the school site – on Avenel Street near South Inman Avenue – is expected to take up to two years to complete. The two schools currently accommodate just over 400 students in grades K-5.

School No. 4 – the district's oldest school built in 1912 – will be torn down. School No. 5, which was built next door in 1948, will get what Mayor John E. McCormac has called “a complete makeover,” to give it significantly improved facilities.

Once complete, the school will have 10 more classrooms than the current buildings; a spacious gymnasium; a more inviting cafeteria; a media center; an interior courtyard for youngsters to enjoy; and administrative offices.

The redevelopment will also give School No. 5's aging facade a modern facelift; upgrade its lights and HVAC system; and improve safety features like fire alarms, a sprinkler system and its public address system.

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Work starts at School No. 5 with a building addition that will wrap around the outside of School No. 4. In the fall of 2025, students will move into new School No. 5 classrooms so the old School No. 4 can be torn down and the remaining site work completed. The main entrance will be moved from the Avenel Street side of the new building.

Parette Somjen Architects , from Rockaway, designed the new school project, and Benjamin R. Harvey Construction Co ., from Ocean Township, will undertake the work.

Joining Mayor McCormac and Superintendent of School Joseph Massimino at Wednesday’s groundbreaking were representatives from Parette Somjen Architects and Benjamin R. Harvey Construction; along with  Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D–18th Dist); school board President Daniel Harris; school board members Susan Boudin, Jenny Perez and Jonathan Triebwasser; Councilwoman Lizbeth DeJesus and Council Vice President Cory S. Spillar, who represents Avenel in 3rd Ward.

Visit the Woodbridge School District website and its Facebook Page for more information.

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