YORKVILLE — Caroline Kennedy's and Kyra Sedgwick's alma mater, The Brearley School, is planning to build a new 12-story school building on East End Avenue to make room for its growing number of students, according to officials.
The 700-student, all-girls prep school hopes to alleviate overcrowding by opening a new school building in place of three townhouses at 70-74 East End Ave., less than a block away from its current space, officials said.
Brearely currently houses all of its elementary through high school students in one building at 610 E. 83rd St., between the East River and East End Avenue.
The expansion will require the demolition of the townhomes and will make room for more classrooms, a new regulation-size gym, a large auditorium, state-of-the art labs, a library, a common room and play space for the younger students.
"While the educational needs of our students are driving our design decisions, we are also eager for the new facility to reflect the character of our surrounding neighborhood, in which our two campus buildings will be located just 249 feet—or about 80 (adult) steps—away from each other," officials wrote in a letter to parents.
Once the new building is finished, all the students will be moved there while the school begins a renovation of its current school building.
The elementary school will be moved to the new facility once both buildings are open, officials say.
Demolition of the townhouses is set to begin this summer, and the new building is expected to be completed by the 2019-2020 academic year, according to school officials.
KPMB Architects is still developing plans for the new building and has not yet filed its designs with the city's Department of Buildings.
Brearley School bought the three townhomes in 2010, which were rent-stabilized buildings at the time. They are now vacant, according to the school.
The school had also planned to purchase a building at 85 East End Ave., but backed out after a group of elderly residents living there fought back.
Just a block away on East 84th Street, the Chapin School is undergoing its own expansion.
Brearley School officials did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.
