The company will lease the site for 75 years, making lease payments and Payment in Lieu of Tax payments to the ECF. These payments should cover the estimated $130-million school redevelopment without tapping taxpayers dollars.

In the first phase of construction, World-Wide will focus on redeveloping the High School of Art and Design and Public School 59, the two schools currently located on the site. This is expected to begin this January and take three years to complete. The high school will continue to operate in its current location until construction of the new site is complete, according to Lee Silberstein, the PR contact for World-Wide. PS 59 will relocate, to an unknown location, during the development period. At completion, PS 59 will be able to accommodate an additional 400 students, having seats for 730 people. The High School of Art and Design will host 1,400 students.

Phase 2 will focus on the mixed-use component of the project. An estimated 20% of the 320-residential units will be affordable housing. The entire project is projected to finish in 2011, according to Silberstein.