State Approves $408M in School Construction Projects

TRENTON, NJ-When it was launched four years ago, the state’s $8.6-billion school construction program figured to help beef up New Jersey’s construction industry, and it has done just that. The Schools Construction Corp., which was set up to oversee the program, has just approved another $408 million work of projects, including eight new schools and major overhauls of two others.

And, according to Jack Spencer, who heads the SCC, the latest projects have the program on track to generate a total of $1 billion worth of construction contracts for the current calendar year. Altogether, the effort has added just under $2 billion worth of business for New Jersey contractors since the year 2000.

Among the projects just approved, according to Spencer, is a $123-million renovation of Trenton Central High School here. It’s the most expensive project yet approved by the state, and it’s so extensive that it won’t even be finished until the 2009 school year.