52°
State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, said the Longfellow Elementary School was originally slated for renovation. But officials decided to demolish the school and fully rebuild it instead.
“It’s going to be a state-of-the-art school,” Stafstorm said. “This neighborhood desperately needed [it].”
The new school will also feature a full-size gymnasium, a technology and media center, a cafeteria, and outdoor play areas. The building will also carry LEED Silver Classification, an award designated to environmentally friendly buildings.
Mayor Bill Finch said that during his administration, the city has launched an expansive school building program. When the program is complete, a little over half of Bridgeport students — about 13,000 — will be in a new or renovated schools, he said.
Students districted for Longfellow are attending classes at Zion Lutheran, Columbus and Curiale schools, according to a city official.
The school construction program, upon completion, will have created more than 3,000 jobs in Bridgeport, the mayor’s office said.
And, out of four school construction projects — Black Rock Elementary School, Fairchild Wheeler Magnet High School, Roosevelt Elementary School and Longfellow Elementary School — 100 out of 101 subcontracting opportunities were awarded to minority- or women-owned businesses, according to the mayor’s office.
Funding for the new $50 million Longfellow Elementary School was provided by the State of Connecticut and the City of Bridgeport. Work began on the project last summer and is slated to be completed in the fall of 2016.
The school site is down the street from a medical, dental and housing complex recently constructed on Albion Street.
“This used to be a forgotten part of the city,” Finch told The Daily Voice. “This is now a thriving part of the city.”
Finch has made education a part of his re-election campaign platform. He has promised to increase pre-K access, ensure that students have state-of-the-art facilities and grow after-school programs, according to a speech he gave to supporters when he officially announced his candidacy last week.
Nearby, Democratic candidate Joe Ganim and West End business leaders held a economic round-table discussion Wednesday at Chaves Bakery in the West End. They also offered a tour of a former police substation, which they are seeking to reopen.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Bridgeport and receive free news updates.
