“Just a few months ago, we were in Keansburg to break ground for this project,” said SDA CEO Charles McKenna, in a statement. “As this new school continues to take shape and this signed beam becomes a permanent part of the structure, we are reaffirming this Administration’s commitment to providing the students of Keansburg with a state-of-the-art facility.”

The new Joseph C. Caruso Elementary School is the first new school in the area constructed by the SDA, and will stand on the same site as the former 58,000-square-foot school of the same name. It was designed to accommodate 750 K-4 students across 28 general use classrooms, eight kindergarten classrooms, self-contained special education classrooms, a modern media center, a gym and a new cafetorium — a facility that can serve as either a gym or an auditorium. The project also includes administrative and support facilities, as well as outdoor physical education and play areas and parking.

"The reality of the new Caruso Elementary School rising up fuels the hopes and dreams of all future generations in the Keansburg School District. It is with great excitement and anticipation that we look forward to our students having a 21st century facility to initiate their educational journey,” said Keansburg Superintendent Gerald North, in a statement.

Hall Construction Company Inc. of Howell, N.J. and Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor, LLC of Warren, N.J. are collaborating on the design-build project, which is being managed by Joseph Jingoli & Sons of Lawrenceville, N.J. Current projections put the cost of the school at just less than $51 million, and construction completion is anticipated for late summer 2016.

Demolition on the original school facility was completed by Tricon Enterprises Inc. of Keyport, N.J. in June 2013. At that time, NJ.com reported that the work turned up an exciting find: a 91-year-old time capsule. The capsule revealed a December 1921 edition of the local Keansburg Beacon newspaper, as well as photographs and a program of the capsule’s dedication ceremony.

Officials broke ground on the school in mid December 2014. Construction is estimated to comprise $32.7 million of the total project cost.

Progress on the new elementary school can be viewed via webcam at http://oxblue.com/open/hallgc/caruso.

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