Hollister Begins Expansion of N.J. Charter School

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Hollister Construction Services (Hollister) began work on a three-story addition to the BelovED Community Charter School in Jersey City on Oct. 22. The 22,388-square-foot addition will include new classrooms, an exercise room, cafeteria and nurse’s office. New York City-based Urbahn Architects completed the design, with project management led by Robert Sander of Hollister Construction.

The innovative BelovED Community Charter School takes its name from a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” This philosophy resonated with Hollister Chief Executive Officer Christopher A. Johnson, who sees great value in charter school construction and expansion. “Hollister is a strong supporter of the charter school movement, so it is especially gratifying to be involved in a significant project that addresses the needs of underserved children,” Johnson said. “Our extensive experience as construction managers for educational projects allowed us to value engineer components and construction methods used in the new addition, ultimately providing enough savings to allow the school to refine their design and add an additional full floor.”

The school is located in a 12-year-old building that formerly housed Schomburg Charter School, and is also in an area that was directly affected by 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. As a result, Hollister President Kieran Flannigan said the company altered pre-existing plans to better prepare the structure for future severe weather.

The first floor of the new addition was elevated, creating a roughly 5-foot crawlspace below enclosed with perforated metal panels. According to Sander, these unique panels are designed to break away under a substantial amount of water pressure. They also allow water to recede from the building, reducing potential damage, while maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the design.

This weather-ready addition will also help the school transition from a K-3 to a K-12 institution. The school plans to incorporate one new grade level per year, and will eventually comprise an elementary, middle and high school on or nearby the school’s existing campus. The expansion will allow students to remain within the BelovED educational system from kindergarten through matriculation, and administrators are also actively working to open a Greenville campus in the near future.