This NYC SCA project was awarded to the joint venture of Michael Graves & Associates and Massa Multimedia Architecture, PC (GMMA).

PS 290 is a new 104,250 sq. ft. primary school located at the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Tonsor Street, in the Ridgewood section of Queens (Community District 5, Community School District 24).

The project site originally consisted of a 44,252 sf lot improved with a 9,445 sf building last utilized as a “Rite Aid” and an asphalt-paved customer parking lot. Retaining walls were present along the southern and eastern borders of the site. As site constraints required our new facility to be built against the property edges of the surrounding residential neighborhood, we were requested to accelerate portions of the work before the construction of the new facility. Acceleration included removal of the existing Rite Aid and surface lot in their entirety as well as partial construction of the new foundation which would support the new five-story structure.

The new school facility accommodates 616 students in grades Pre-K through 5 to meet the current and projected needs for the surrounding community. In order to provide the maximum amount of exterior space for the general and early childhood play areas, MGA/MMA designed the building’s footprint to be arced slightly. The offices, Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms, and the student dining facilities are located on the first floor while the upper floors house the balance of the required spaces and the District 75 classrooms.