Scheduled for completion in 2012, the MXD is the second phase of a two-part project that has already borne fruit in the form of a temporary home for P.S. 59 on East 63d Street. The converted nursing dormitory, where schools chancellor Joel Klein and others unveiled the MXD design yesterday, was renovated by World-Wide in time for the start of classes last month and is the city's first school building in accordance with the SCA's "green" guidelines. When the new P.S. 59 opens as part of the East 57th project, the East 63rd site will be used as a new, 500-seat facility in School District 2.

World-Wide will spend an estimated $200 million to construct the new, 730-seat P.S. 59 and the new 1,400-seat location for the High School of Art and Design on a 1.5-acre site at 250 E. 57th St., located at the southwest corner of 57th and Second Avenue, according to a release. The new schools, replacing existing facilities on the 1.5-acre site, will be located at the corner of 56th Street and Second Avenue.

Noting that the city's growth has posed a challenge in finding space to accommodate the increasing student population, Klein said at yesterday's presentation that the project was "emblematic of out-of-the-box thinking. We're able to get new school buildings through private investment." He said that including the East 63rd building, the project would add a total of 830 new classroom seats, part of the Bloomberg administration's plan to add 63,000 seats to the system citywide.