Sparta School Doubles in Size with Completion of New Facility

Sussex County Charter School for Technology has a lot to look forward to in the new year. After more than 12 years of renting space, the charter school now has a permanent home and began the year with their first day of classes in their new facility on January 3, 2011.

Located on a formerly vacant 4-acre lot at 385 North Church St., the new facility is 20,000 square feet, and boasts a 4,000 square foot gym. The school facility was designed to match the character of the surrounding historic district of Sparta, and was built using modular and pre-engineered construction methods.

Started in 1997, the school had been renting space within the Sussex County Technical School but had outgrown that space. With the new facility, SCCST was able to grow from approximately 100 students in seventh and eighth grades to 200 students in sixth through eighth grades. The school has a waitlist that only continues to grow, giving Sussex County parents another educational option for their children.

Assisting the charter school throughout this entire process has been Real Estate Advisory and Development Services Inc. (READS), a not-for-profit real estate firm. Based in Metuchen, READS brings its financial and real estate expertise to work for charter schools like Sussex County Charter to help them arrange financing and to line up and manage the professional services that construction projects require, from the drawing board, through the approval and construction process, all the way down to opening day.

READS purchased the vacant lot in November 2008 and developed the facility over the next two and half years. Once the project was completed, SCCST purchased the facility from READS for $5.3 million this past December. The school obtained permanent financing from the US Department of Agriculture, Sussex Bank and New Jersey Community Capital. New Jersey Community Capital provided READS with a construction loan to develop the project.

“Within days of the site work being completed, the structure was erected, and a few months later the school moved in and is thriving in their new space,” said Eric Felczak, Project Manager at READS. “The progress was certainly not without its complications, but it is really rewarding to have the school in their new home.”

Jill Eckel, principal of Sussex County Charter School for Technology, said “Our first day went pretty much without a hitch (well maybe a few minor ones) but the kids were thrilled with the school (especially the red lockers).”

READS is a nonprofit real estate development company committed to building strong organizations and communities. Since its inception in 2003 READS has helped dozens of charter schools to obtain and build facilities that meet their needs.

READS provides all phases of real estate development and technical assistance, including financial structuring and project management. READS has been recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education with the Corporate Partnership Award for its work with charter schools and by the U.S. Department of Education as a promising practice in real estate development.

For more information, call Brian Keenan at (732) 635-1000, or call the charter school at (973) 383-6700.
On the web:
www.readsusa.org
www.charter.sussex.tec.nj.us?

$5.2M charter campus is expected to relieve crowded conditions in Sussex technology school

READS was featured in an NJ.com article around the development of Sussex County Charter School for Technology.  Brian Keenan, Director and President of READS, is quoted.

SPARTA — Classes at the Sussex County Charter School for Technology, which was among the first schools to have its charter approved by the state in 1997, are currently held in nine rented classrooms in a wing next to the auditorium at the Sussex County Technical School on Route 94 in Sparta.

The ninth classroom was added this year to accommodate the growing enrollment, which this year added 50 students to bring its current enrollment up to 200 students in grades six through eight.

“We fit 200 students in here, but we’re kinda tight,” principal Jill Eckel said during an interview in her office, which doubles as the nurses’s office. “Facilities are the No. 1 issue for charter schools.”

But the crowded conditions at the Sussex school are not expected to last much longer.

A new $5.2 million school, located on four acres the charter school owns a couple of miles east of its current rented home on Route 94, is currently under construction and is expected to open in January.

“It’s a good number ($5.2 million) for what we could afford,” said Eckel, who taught at Pope John Regional XXIII High School in Sparta before she became a teacher at the Sussex charter school. She became principal in 2005.

The Real Estate Advisory and Development Services, or READS, is building the Sussex school, said Brian Keenan, president of the Metuchen-based non-profit organization that specializes in securing funding for community development projects.

The agency, which has built other charter schools in the state as well, is able to keep costs down because new charter schools are exempt from state Department of Education building requirements.

“Charter schools are smaller, more modest buildings. They don’t have as many amenities — whether that’s good or bad,” said Keenan.

Like the Sussex charter school, most of the fledgling New Jersey charter schools have struggled to find a place to hold classes while they waited — and hoped — that their school’s enrollment would someday grow. Only about one-third of the state’s 73 charter schools, most of which are located in the state’s urban areas, have a place they can call their own.

Click here to read the full article.

Sparta Progress Oct. 14

Gym siding, seeding, trim painting, ceiling grids, finishing up HVAC duct work, and interior finishes.

Sparta Landscaping and Gym

Sparta Landscaping and Gym

Originally uploaded by READS USA

Eric Felczak
READS
(cell) 908-797-2844

Sparta Landscaping and Gym

Sparta Landscaping and Gym

Originally uploaded by READS USA

Eric Felczak
READS
(cell) 908-797-2844

Sparta Landscaping and Gym

Sparta Landscaping and Gym

Originally uploaded by READS USA

Eric Felczak
READS
(cell) 908-797-2844

Touring Sussex

Our own Brian Keenan led a tour of the Sussex County Charter School for Technology on Sunday. The event was captured by photographer Daniel Freel and the New Jersey Herald.

We’re proud of our work and the pace at which this project is moving along.

Making Progress in Sparta

Making Progress in Sparta

Originally uploaded by READS USA

Thank goodness the school Board really likes the color of their new building at the Sussex County Charter School for Technology.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

What’s new at READS

Below are some highlights of exciting news for READS.

* The READS Academic Advisory Board will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, June 15 via conference call. This is part of how READS is helping to promote high-quality charter schools.
* READS is looking into expanding its Board.
* For the Sussex County Charter School for Technology building in Sparta, NJ, the modular classrooms will be delivered next week. Stay tuned for details and photos on the blog!
* Project Manager Eric Felczak is helping to inventory the kitchen for Golden Door Charter School in Jersey City to help one charter school serve healthier lunches.
* Julie French is working on a philanthropy roundtable for Delaware.
* The Energy Institute started its second round and is working on applications.
* Next week READS will be at the Office of Clean Energy Energy Efficiency meeting, the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ’s membership meeting, and The Reinvestment Fund recognition event in Philadelphia.

Behind the Scenes Building a New School with Sussex County Charter School for Technology

On Thursday, May 6th the Charter Foundation for the Arts and Sciences held a fundraiser for the Sussex County Charter School for Technology community gathered for a fundraiser at the Crystal Springs Spa and Resort to raise money for the school’s new facility project. READS has been working with the school for seven years, and we are currently building them a new school slated for completion later this summer. At the event we caught up with a few members of the school community to ask them about their experience with the new facility and what the project and the school means to them.

Here is what the school’s principal, Jill Eckel, had to say.

We also had a chance to speak with a Board member about the new project.

But at the end of the day it’s about the students and the quality of their experience and learning in school. This is what some former students had to say.