New Construction Methods in Play for NJ School Build
New Jersey’s Hudson County School of Technology High Tech High School is getting a new home at Laurel Hill in Secaucus. The $160 million project, which received 59% of the budget from state funding, broke ground in May of this year, and will replace the former campus in North Bergen.
The school, developed by Hudson County Improvement Authority, is one of the first projects in New Jersey to be done using the design-build method, following the New Jersey Assembly’s approval of this technique, an alternative to traditional design-bid-build, in June of 2015. The new approach allows for the elimination of the lowest bidder selection process, resulting in shorter project time.
“(Our project) will be a roadmap for others and should present the opportunity to implement other projects similarly, at other agencies and municipalities interested in using the design-build approach,” says Ted Domuracki, founder and president of MAST Construction Services, the project’s Construction Manager. He adds that this process allows the team to “streamline the scope of work needed for the project in a highly efficient yet effective manner and mitigate communications between parties, saving time and money while ensuring a top-notch result.”
The 340,000-sq-ft building consists of a three-story central hub, which will include the garage, administrative offices, cafeteria, gymnasium and 400 seat theater, Domuracki says. Other firms involved in the project are RSC Architects, Terminal Construction Corporation, DMR Architects and PS&S Integrated Services.
Construction is expected to be complete by June 2018. The school, which includes four academies focusing on vocational training, architecture and engineering, applied sciences and performing arts, will move into the new building for the 2018 school year.
