A charter school that had plans to come to Community Board 6 this fall will be delayed due to COVID-19 and will instead be unveiled in 2021.
Zeta Charter Schools, which has two schools in the south Bronx at 652 W. 187th St. and 222 Alexander Ave., will be opening a 65,000-square-foot school, Zeta Bronx Tremont Park Elementary at 1910 Arthur Ave. in East Tremont next year. Located next to the CB6 office, it will serve students in pre-K through fifth grade.
Emily Kim, who founded Zeta Charter Schools in 2017, said coming to District 12 is a good opportunity because it only has a few charter schools. While she is disappointed, they cannot accomplish that this fall, she and the parents understand why.
“This building will enable Zeta to provide a world class, next-generation charter school to hundreds of children in Central Bronx,” Kim said. “The current COVID-19 crisis presents a challenging time for all of us, and especially underserved families in the Bronx. We feel deeply grateful for this incredible opportunity to serve even more families and provide students in the Bronx with a high-quality school that they deserve.”
The nine-story building formerly served multiple tenants, primarily medical offices. Transwestern Partners worked closely with the extensive project team to ensure the building’s suitability to be transformed into a school. The building offers fitness options for the students with Tremont Park across the street and plans to utilize the building’s rooftop for additional play space.
Transwestern Partners Lindsay Ornstein and Stephen Powers and Vice President Thomas Hines provided Occupier Solutions services for Zeta Charter Schools. Transwestern also represented the school in its 98,000-square-foot deal at 425 Westchester Ave. in the South Bronx for Zeta Bronx 1, which is also expected to open for the 2021-2022 academic year.
“By selecting an experienced development partner with an existing building that can be converted quickly for school use, we were able to save Zeta Charter Schools significant time and expense in delivering Zeta Bronx Tremont Park Elementary to the community,” Ornstein said. “We are thrilled to be working alongside Zeta Charter Schools as we continue to look for additional opportunities for them to open more state-of-the-art educational facilities in the future.”
