A record-breaking $19.4 billion has been allocated for construction projects to improve New York City’s public schools. The money will fuel new construction as well as upgrades. Additionally, some of the funding will be applied to ensure compliance with current standards. General contractors are invited to prequalify.
Largest Investment Ever
The 1,400 buildings that comprise New York City’s public school system, which serves 1 million students each year, are maintained by the New York City School Construction Authority. With student enrollment expected to rise during the next 10 years, the New York City Department of Education and School Construction Authority are thinking big, as Sebastian Obando reports for Construction Dive: “An expected surge in student enrollment over the next decade, as well as an outdated stock of school buildings, pushed the NYCSCA to boost its school-related construction funding. For example, the NYCSCA expects needing more than 6,200 new seats in Queens high schools alone by 2026, according to The American Institute of Architects.” Three different categories of funding will be awarded, and general contractors are invited to to prequalify:
The Department of Education and the New York City School Construction Authority plan to allocate $19.4 billion worth of funding for school-related construction…through 2024, according to the most recently released capital plan.That amount, split into three different funding buckets consisting of new construction, existing school upgrades and compliance requirements, represents the largest funding plan for the city’s schools ever….The NYCSCA, created in 1988 by the New York State Legislature to construct and renovate educational facilities in the five boroughs, will award contracts to only prequalified general contractors. To prequalify, firms must submit a complete online prequalification application and be approved to do business with the NYCSCA.
Builders eager to get in on public projects in New York City–and every region– are encouraged to come to Colonial Surety and qualify for The Partnership Account® for Contractors.Once qualified for this free service you will have the capacity to bid more and better as you leverage your:
- surety line of credit—in writing;
- private digital dashboard;
- daily snapshot of single and aggregate limits
- ability to update work on hand—and increase your aggregate.
All this, plus, we give you power of attorney to issue your own bid bonds, so you can get your bid in faster—and with more confidentiality—then everyone else.
Think big: put The Partnership Account® to work for you.
Good To Know
In New York City, any new buildings funded through the $19.4 billion capital plan will be electric, and the priority will be “projects in communities disproportionately burdened by climate change and environmental injustice.” The three categories of projects to be funded are:
Capacity ($7.95 billion): All initiatives that create new school facilities, including $5.52 billion for new seats, $605 million for class size reduction, $267 million for transportable classroom units, $806 million for facility replacements and $756 million for early education initiatives.
Capital investment ($7.94 billion): Programs that improve existing schools, including $3.65 billion for building upgrades and $2.85 billion for school enhancement, such as technology, accessibility and bathroom-related projects.
Mandate programs ($3.47 billion): Any project that enables schools to comply with new requirements or existing local laws, namely elements such as remediation, building code compliance, insurance and emergencies.
Schools Around The Country
Of course it is not just public schools in New York City that are sorely in need of attention. As The New York Times reports: “The average American school building is about 50 years old. According to a 2020 analysis by the Government Accountability Office, about 41 percent of school districts needed to update or replace the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems in at least half of their schools, about 36,000 buildings in all.” The good news is that there are lots of ambitious school builds going on in states across the country, so contractors eager for growth are wise to keep an eye on their local school districts, which are leveraging federal funding from the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) allocations to fund modernization. Projects that would ordinarily be nearly impossible to tackle are underway. K-12 Dive reports that many school districts are strategically using ESSER funds for “comprehensive infrastructure projects that will reduce costs and stabilize budgets for years to come, all while modernizing the learning environment to meet changing needs post-pandemic.”
Remember, Colonial Surety is here to help you win. The Partnership Account® gives qualified contractors a surety line of credit—in writing—and a private digital dashboard, providing daily snapshots of single and aggregate limits and bond capacity. Go ahead: update work on hand, increase the aggregate and hit the green light on your next important build.
Pre-Qualify and Get Free Scores Here.
Founded in 1930, Colonial Surety Company is a leading direct seller and writer of surety bonds and insurance products across the USA. Colonial is rated “A Excellent” by A.M. Best Company and U.S. Treasury listed.