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Soon after the ink dried on the contract of sale for the land between 60th and 61st Streets on West End Avenue, the Building Committee began considering the following question: How should Heschel use its three properties – on 89th Street, 91st Street and West End Avenue – to accommodate its close to 500 students and expand so that over time we have room for an enlarged Lower School and High School? During the past six months, the Committee has considered many ways to answer that question. It solicited input from many in the School community and examined and weighed a host of criteria, including: cost and human resources required (on top of the $21 million already spent for acquisition of the site); length of time to accomplish the goals; potential dislocation for current and future student populations; usefulness of each building over time and flexibility for the future. Of course, the top priority in evaluating any scenario was ensuring and improving the quality of the existing school and its programs. The result was a phased plan, recently approved by the Board, which will achieve all of our dreams over time – expanding the student body first at the High School level and later at the Lower School level. The highlights are as follows: Phase One High School: The near term plan for the High School centers around a significant renovation of the existing school building at 20 West End Avenue. At first, the Committee considered making only some minor cosmetic changes and necessary mechanical improvements in order to get the doors open as quickly as possible. Over the course of the process and with the advice of our professional consultants, the Building Committee and Board decided that “cheap and cheerful” wouldn’t do the trick. It made more sense to do the work at the outset that would be needed for the long run. Much of the interior of the 42,000 square foot, four-floor building will be demolished to make way for a new configuration designed to bring natural light to the classrooms and to facilitate the program and growth of the High School. The renovation will also add some 4000 square feet of space on a mezzanine level around the gym. The building will be used for grades 9-12 only; all other grades will remain where they are for the moment.