$31M Renovation At County Tech School In Newark Hits Finish Line

NEWARK, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy was among the officials on hand this week for the opening of the newly transformed Essex County Newark Tech School.

On Wednesday, Murphy and other elected officials gathered for a dedication ceremony at the school, which has seen a $31.7 million facelift, including a new addition and the “complete renovation” of all other existing classroom spaces.

Construction at Essex County Newark Tech started in May 2021 and was completed in 19 months.

According to county officials, the centerpiece of the project is a three-story, 16,500-square-foot addition built on the rear of the school building. The addition has a modern entry on the first floor, innovation/media center on the second floor and cafeteria on the third floor.

“The larger media center and cafeteria replace much smaller facilities which made scheduling classes logistically difficult because the rooms could not accommodate large numbers of students,” officials noted. “For example, because of the small size of the old cafeteria, some students were assigned lunch periods as early as 10 a.m.”

Other improvements include:

“The 165,000 square feet of space inside the existing school building was completely overhauled. Two new physics labs, a new suite for the school nurse, a second TEAL (Technology Enhanced Active Learning) Center and general classrooms were created. The existing cafeteria kitchen and serving area, faculty lounge, cabinetry lab and office spaces were converted into the second TEAL Center. The renovation also included the refurbishment of an existing wheelchair lift and freight elevator and the modernization of restrooms for students and staff. The entire building received a state-of-the-art HVAC system, fire alarm system, upgraded electrical system and audio-visual and IT systems.”

County officials said DiCara Rubino Architects from Wayne was awarded a $2,200,000 contract to design the addition and renovations. Epic Management from Piscataway was awarded a publicly bid contract for $28,509,000 to perform the construction. Jingoli and Sons from Lawrence was awarded a $999,069 contract for serve as the construction manager of the project.

“New Jersey is quickly becoming the center of the technological revolutions happening in so many industries,” Murphy said. “As the jobs of tomorrow are being built all around us, the skilled minds that will fill those jobs are going to be nurtured right here.”

“Moreover, as we build a diverse new economy, we’re going to build a diverse workforce,” the governor continued. “This is the magic of Newark Tech, in particular, and the Essex County Schools of Technology.”

Several students said they were excited to return to their old school.

“On behalf of our student body, we are excited to transition back to Newark Tech,” said senior Emily Robles, referring to the year and a half that students attended classes at the former Bloomfield Tech building.

“It’s very exciting to see all of this,” Robles said.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said the state is repaying 90 percent of the construction debt for the new school.

“The transformation of our Schools of Technology District is amazing, and would not be possible without the support and assistance from Gov. Murphy,” he said.

The school is part of the Essex County Vocational Technical School District, one of the largest in New Jersey. The district – which has an enrollment of nearly 2,200 students – has four high schools: Bloomfield Tech, Newark Tech, North 13th Street Tech and West Caldwell Tech. In addition, the system provides adult programs in the evening at its Adult Training Center at Newark Tech.

Essex County Newark Tech is the third school building in the Essex County Schools of Technology District to undergo renovations in the last five years.

Construction on the Essex County Donald M. Payne, Sr. School of Technology started in 2016 and lasted two years, with the school opening in 2018 at a cost of about $102 million. The $30 million project to expand and modernize the Essex County West Caldwell School of Technology started once the Payne School was completed and welcomed its first class in September 2021.

According to DiVincenzo’s office, 90 percent of the cost for the school construction projects is being reimbursed with grants from the state of New Jersey. Essex County is only responsible for paying just 10 percent of the costs, which comes to about $16 million.

Part of those costs were offset with the sale of the old North 13th Street Tech in Newark and the future sale the old Bloomfield Tech in Bloomfield, DiVincenzo’s office added.

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