2 Major Renovation Projects At Woodbridge Middle/Ross St. School

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — If you see construction all summer long at Woodbridge Middle School and Ross Street Elementary School #11, it's because of major renovations underway at both schools.

Construction actually started earlier this month at Ross Street school, which will one day be entirely torn down and replaced with a new building. The Woodbridge school district already started building the new Ross Street school, which will be located on an existing parking lot, playground and several vacant lots near the current school.

The original Ross Street School #11, the second oldest school in the district, was built in 1920, and badly needed to be replaced, the Twp. says.

The oldest school is Woodbridge Middle School, built in 1910. Renovations there include the construction of a new gymnasium and locker rooms, adding large musical and vocal classrooms, six new science rooms, a Creative Commons, a state-of-the-art production studio and renovated classrooms. That's a rendering of what the new Woodbridge Middle School will look like, above.

Both projects will take several years to complete. Renovations at Woodbridge Middle School are anticipated to be completed in fall of 2019. The new Ross Street school will not be open to students until the start of the 2020 school year.

Construction will last through the summer and all through the 2018-2019 school year; students will be able to attend classes in both schools next year while construction is underway.

The new three-story, 87,000 square foot Ross Street school will be centered around a large atrium courtyard that will provide natural light, the district says. The courtyard will house a small amphitheater for outdoor lessons, several “living learning” gardens and seating areas for reading and eating.

The new Ross Street school will also have solar panels that will reduce overall energy consumption, the district says.

Both projects were paid for by a $50 million bond referendum overwhelmingly approved by Woodbridge Twp. residents in 2017.