By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Claremont Prep’s new $40 million home at 25 Broadway has all the trappings one would expect of a $33,000-a-year private school: a recording studio, an art room overlooking New York Harbor and SmartBoards in every class.
But so far, the feature that has most impressed Claremont’s middle and high school students is that they no longer have to rub elbows with Claremont’s preschool and elementary children, as they did when they shared a building at 41 Broad St.
"It’s much better than our old school," said Lisa Marchelska, a seventh grader from Greenpoint. "We have pretty much our own space — we don’t have to share with the younger kids."
Nathan Goldberg, a seventh grader from Battery Park City, agreed and added that the views in the new building aren’t bad either.
"One thing I didn’t like about the old building is that it didn’t really have windows," Goldberg said. “You looked out and there was nothing there. Now, you can see the Statue of Liberty and everything.”
The views from the top floor of the landmarked Cunard building at 25 Broadway extend for miles, from Midtown to the Verrazano Bridge, and they are part of what drew Claremont to lease 200,000 square feet there for the school.
Claremont also needed more space — since opening in 2005 with just 54 students, Claremont’s enrollment has grown to 530, and the school includes students ranging from 3-year-olds to 10th graders.
The new campus at 25 Broadway — known as 1 Morris St., the address of a side entrance — gives Claremont plenty of room to grow. Once it is complete, the school will have 30 classrooms, including six science labs, five computer labs and two language labs.
So far, the space is a work in progress. The cafeteria, most of the classrooms and half of the library opened this month, and a 400-seat theater is slated to open in about a week. The 40,000-square-foot athletic center, complete with a full-court gym, a four-lane competition pool and a rock-climbing wall, will be ready by second semester.
The school is still deciding what to do with the 12,000-square-foot wraparound terrace, which could become outdoor play space.
A weightier decision facing Claremont is the search for a new leader, since former headmaster Irwin Shlachter resigned last year. The school expects to have a new head before the end of 2010.
Last Friday, as the first week of school at 25 Broadway drew to a close, both students and staff said they were still adjusting to the new space, learning where all the hallways and staircases went.
"The students don’t get lost," Middle School Head Jane Eisenstadt said with a laugh. "It’s the adults that are getting lost."
