Charter School Proposed at 700 Gerard Avenue in Grand Concourse Historic District, The Bronx

Rendering of The American Dream School - Partners for ArchitectureRendering of The American Dream School - Partners for Architecture

With proposals to construct a new school within The Grand Concourse Historic District of The Bronx,Partners for Architecture will soon appear before the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Known as The American Dream School, the building would rise five stories and comprise approximately 33,173 square feet.

Located at 700 Gerard Avenue, the proposed school is the most recent development from Friends of The American Dream Charter School Inc. and its affiliate The American Dream School, two not-for-profit education groups. Jacqueline Peu-Duvallon Historic Preservation Consulting is listed as a contributing firm in the most recent proposal documents.

The Grand Concourse Historic District consists of 78 properties located along a one-mile stretch of between East 153rd and 167th Streets. The “Grand Boulevard and Concourse,” now referred to simply as Grand Concourse, dates back to 1891 and originally functioned as a link between Manhattan and The Bronx. Nearly half of the residential buildings within the historic district were constructed between 1922 and 1931. A second wave of construction in the 1940s diversified the architectural character of the district and introduced both Art Deco and Streamline Moderne-style structures.

The façade of the American Dream School attempts to evoke the textural history of the district and incorporates geometric paneling, stucco materials, and curved shapes in the building’s main entryway.

According to documents published in May 2018, total project cost hovers around $27 million.

Map of the Grand Concourse Historic District illustrated the location of 700 Gerard Avenue - Partners for Architecture

Map of the Grand Concourse Historic District illustrated the location of 700 Gerard Avenue – Partners for Architecture

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11 Comments on "Charter School Proposed at 700 Gerard Avenue in Grand Concourse Historic District, The Bronx"

  1. Please pardon me for using your space: Don’t beat around the bush, it is beautiful into my view. (Thank you)

  2. It looks like a jail and is especially boorish next to two elegant Deco apartment buildings.

  3. Jonathan Marin | May 1, 2019 at 8:46 am | Reply

    Tight space. A condominium would make more sense.

  4. Are all those tiny windows broom closets?

  5. Betsy Devos approves

    • David in Bushwick | May 1, 2019 at 10:42 am | Reply

      Exactly. DeVos wants all schools to be charter schools. That should tell us everything.

      • After all, the biggest threat to implanting radical conservative ideology into the brains of youngsters is that pesky rational “socialist” ideology practiced by the public school system.

  6. Jeremy Saks | May 1, 2019 at 9:36 am | Reply

    I’m sure that giant beige wall will weather well. Looking forward to seeing it soot-stained and cracking after about 5 years and getting no attention because there’s no budget for repairs.

  7. Confused in St Louis | May 1, 2019 at 11:04 am | Reply

    Puts the “ick” in historic.

  8. Something Does Not Add Up | November 8, 2019 at 5:26 am | Reply

    I am just curious when the NYPD will address the incessant drug dealing in that block. Given everything else going on in that neighborhood, one would have thought that block would have gentrified by now. It’s like a throwback to the 1990’s for some reason.

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