MORRISANIA — A South Bronx charter school wants to construct a roughly $40 million new building.
The Harriet Tubman Charter School, which is located in Morrisania, is seeking about $40 million in tax-exempt bonds to build a charter school on E. 166th Street that would serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade, according to city documents.
The student body is currently split across two buildings, according to the Department of Education. Students in kindergarten through fourth grade go to the school's building at 3565 Third Ave., while students in fifth through eighth grade go to the building at 1176 Franklin Ave.
Claudia Nisbett, vice chair of the school's board of trustees, said getting all of the students in the same building was the main reason for the project.
"There are so many benefits to that," she said. "First of all, they’re safer in one location. They don’t have to go in between locations. They get to know each other better. The older ones can mentor the younger ones."
Having their own building would also allow the school to stop paying rent, Nisbett said.
The new building would be located across four lots: 435, 447, 449 and 451 E. 166th St., which is currently the site of a mattress warehouse and a parking lot.
It would be eight stories tall and approximately 65,000 square feet. The project would include a 5,000 square foot parking lot as well, and Nisbett expects the building to be ready for students to use in 2018.
Harriet Tubman Charter School's current sites are roughly half a mile away from each other and from where the new building would go.
A public hearing about the project will take place March 9 at 110 William St. on the fourth floor at 10 a.m., according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
