Prospect School Kindergarten Center

BBS completed the $18.1-million historic renovation and expansion of the 60,500-sq.-ft Prospects School in Hempstead, NY. Early on, the Hempstead Union Free School District had retained BBS to review the possibility of redeveloping, modernizing and reopening the Prospect School, which was shut down and abandoned in 2003. BBS performed a review of the building’s technical condition and analyzed the district’s spatial and programming needs. At the time, the district utilized a large quantity of temporary portable trailer facilities for educational purposes and was leasing properties for kindergarten-level classes.

The 16-month construction project encompassed a complete renovation and expansion of the original three-story Prospect School building, construction of a one-story addition, site improvements, and ADA compliance upgrades. The newly re-opened school houses over 600 students, and it features 32 educational spaces, including 22 regular classrooms and 9 small-group and special instruction classrooms.

The renovation created one of the most technologically advanced public kindergarten facilities in the Greater New York area. It features six computer stations for students and one teacher’s computer in every classroom, interactive boards with projectors controlled by either the teacher’s station or the central communication and data system, wireless Internet access throughout the entire school, a library with multiple computer stations, and extensive T-6 data and telecommunications wiring embedded in the new walls for future technological upgrades.

Project Facts

Awards

  • 2014 Outstanding Project Award, Learning By Design.