LEE COUNTY, Fla.—With a completion date slated for 2021, construction continues on the new $98 million Gateway High School in Lee County, Fla.

Rapid growth in one area of Lee County was the main reason for a larger school. Spanning 300,000 square feet, Gateway High School will have three stories of classrooms for approximately 2,000 students.

“We need the seats for students that live in the east zone, so we are building them as fast as we can,” said Rob Spicker, spokesperson for the School District of Lee County, in a statement.

There will be three main buildings, with the largest being devoted to the classrooms, plus the gymnasium, cafeteria, and an auditorium. The project will also include an array of athletic fields and specialty learning centers such as a veterinary clinic, cyber security training and carpentry academy. There will also be a black box theater.

Gateway High School is the first Lee County School built during the pandemic through COVID-conscious construction practices such as touchless water fountains, bottle filters and used easy-to-clean surfaces during construction.

This new high school is ushering in a new era of school build-outs that, by 2023, will grow the Lee County school district to a level not seen since the early 2000s.

“It’s awesome,” said Kathie Ebaugh, executive director of facility planning and development, in a statement,

“We’re in a major growth period in Lee County, and we are here to provide for the educational needs for our community so we’re building schools and we’re renovating schools.”

Suffolk Construction is the general contractor on this impressive project. BSSW Architects Inc. is the architecture firm.

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NEW YORK, NY—With a completion date slated for January 2021, NYU’s School of Global Public Health is well under construction.

The School will educate tomorrow’s leaders in global health planning and support collaborative research on public health issues around the world. Specialty programs include Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Global and Environmental Public Health, and Public Health Policy and Management. Since 2017, the school has seen its enrollment triple and its grant ranking surge.

“NYU GPH is working in the United States and around the world to prevent and combat epidemics,” said School Dean Cheryl Healton in a statement.

“Their new home will bring together staff, faculty and students under one roof for the first time as they continue the quest to educate the next generation of the front line in public health professionals, advance research to improve the world’s health and directly engage with agencies, communities and governments to improve public health efforts globally.”

The new facility is located at 708 Broadway in New York City in two adjoining historic buildings on the NYU Greenwich Village campus. It will span 147,000 square feet and accommodate multiple public health research groups, student gathering space, a conference center, and faculty and administrative offices.

Kliment Halsband Architects is the architect on this impressive project, and Suffolk Construction is the general contractor. The project cost is not being disclosed at this time.

A living green wall in the building will set the tone for the environmental and healthful indoor experience. On upper floors, research groups will be able gather in flexible open workstation configurations with nearby conference and breakout spaces. Glass-walled offices and open workspace bring natural light and views to everyone. High ceilings, color-controlled LED lighting, and color schemes based on a nature-related palette contribute to a calm, stress free, and productive atmosphere.

A 70-foot-long window wall will bring light and views into the space. A multiuse open space on the student floor is the setting for job fairs, lectures, and film presentations. Every floor includes an informal eating and workspace, a fully equipped pantry and kitchen, and gender-neutral toilet rooms.

An NYU Fitness Center is in the building. Designated areas for bicycle storage also emphasize health conscious choices for students. The incorporation of colorful graphics and lighting in the stairs encourage their use. A two-floor penthouse conference center invites public access and can also be used as an informal fitness studio.

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Approximately $50.8 million in total school construction was brought to the ballot in Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Essex, Morris and Salem counties. The referendums presented will receive no state financial aid.

“That’s pretty quiet,” said Mike Yaple, public affairs officer with the New Jersey School Boards Association. “We’ve seen years with two dozen maybe three dozen construction proposals.”

March 12 is one of five dates each year that districts may present a referendum to voters. Since the economic downturn, Yaple said, construction referendums have become fewer, less expensive and with more immediacy than in years past.

However, the largest referendum in the lineup passed. In a close vote of 1,446 to 1,257, the voters of Livingston passed an $18.2 million referendum to construct additions to the district’s five elementary schools and bring full ADA compliance to Livingston High School.

“Livingston residents take great pride in their public schools and they made a long-term commitment to their excellence by the passage of this referendum,” said Brad Draeger, superintendent of Livingston Public Schools in a statement.

Construction for the project is to begin early next year.

Other proposals, such as the $17.5 million project to replace athletic fields turf, bleachers, track fencing and field houses at Hanover Park Regional in Morris County, fell by the wayside.

The approval of construction in Livingston coincides with trends that typically pass over athletic renovations and favor construction or renovation for academic purposes, Yaple said.

“The closer you are to the classroom, the more likely that voters will approve it,” he said.

Weymouth Township of Atlantic County approved a $980,000 referendum to make mechanical and electrical renovations to the township’s elementary school. Bergen County voters passed a $3.3 million bond to construct an athletic field complex including track, multipurpose athletic field, storage, restrooms and a concession stand. And Camden voters approved a $3 million renovation or replacement project for three school roofs.

Yaple said that though some counties are lucky, some New Jersey schools are in serious need of repairs, upgrades and renovations. Efforts to renovate schools becomes much different when the state allocates zero funding and voters are asked to approve a major undertaking when the economy is still struggling, he said.

“The message to voters is if you’re going to approve this you’re going to go on your own and pay for it by your local property taxes,” Yaple said.

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