framing, the school intended to bring this vision to life through a well-rounded education designed to help the boys rise to the highest levels of personal commitment and achievement in each of our four pillars: academics, athletics, arts, and spirituality.
With this spirit and at the heart of this new strategic vision was the complete demolition, rebuilding, and repurposing of Graham House, converting it from a rental building, to full school occupancy and use. Following 12 years of planning, the successful relocation of all 38 tenants and their families, and the securing of all the necessary permits and certificates, the school launched a monumental $ 75 million consolidation and expansion of our facilities at 89th Street( that became known as The Great Compression followed by The Great Expansion), fundamentally transforming and enriching the educational experience for our boys.
Expanding into the contiguous space of Graham House enabled the school to deploy additional square footage and, more importantly, large volume spaces to help realize the full potential of our programs, our boys, and our community. Curricula were further enriched, schedules optimized, and community spirit enhanced. Our boys began to learn in an optimal environment, with physical facilities equaled by the gifts of their exceptional teachers. For the first time in its history, the program drove the use and design of space, as opposed to the space driving program.
The creation of three new gyms— one of which is full-size middle school regulation with connected locker rooms— provided contiguous athletic facilities, eliminated travel time to the 94th Street Gym, and brought more community members together for athletic and other communitywide events on campus. New cardio and strength training fitness rooms and an interactive fitness center accommodated a new multi-faceted sports program. An acoustically engineered, multi-purpose performing arts center could seat an entire school division with a permanent stage with a side prep room, and dedicated performing arts instructional spaces provided new opportunities for more ambitious set, lighting, and stage design for theatrical productions, including collaborations with 15 East 88th Street, the fourth and final Cutting townhouse.
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