Brilla Public Charter Schools
Location: South Bronx
Date Involved: 2019-2021
Brilla College Preparatory Charter Schools (“Brilla”) are anchored on the core belief that a successful school helps its students build moral character and achieve academic excellence. We are proud to have helped Brilla evaluate the feasibility of constructing rooftop play areas at 500 Courtlandt Avenue and 413 E. 144th Street, which are school buildings leased from the Diocese in the South Bronx. Our assessment included a programming exercise, the structural analysis of the roofs, and the development of a conceptual design by the architect and engineer that was used to obtain a cost estimate for the work.
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Project Information
Size: 6,000 sq. ft.
Budget: $2.3M
Team: PellOverton, WSP Engineering, Silman Engineering
500 Courtlandt Avenue is a two‐story school building comprised of two separate but connected buildings. After evaluating the structure of the roof, we recommended that the existing built‐up roof framing and membrane be replaced with a new elevated framing and level finished flooring, such as rubber tiles, that would provide a safe and durable surface. Upon completion, about 6,000 sq. ft. of space would be available to the school for running, jumping, and ballplay. A significant finding of our feasibility analysis was that the Department of Buildings will likely require the installation of an elevator to provide accessibility to the roof, though the team was able to identify a feasible location for a new exterior elevator that could serve all floors and roof levels, and prove to be a wider benefit to the school. We completed a thorough bidding process and estimated the construction cost for this work to be $2.3 million, with a construction timeframe of 14‐20 weeks to complete the project.
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Project Information
Size: 4,000 sq. ft.
Budget: $1.8M
Team: PellOverton, WSP Engineering, Silman Engineering
413 East 144th Street is a four‐story school building, with a large, unobstructed roof area. After evaluating the roof structure, we found that with structural reinforcement, the existing roof can support occupancy for passive uses. However, by constructing new elevated framing, a wider range of recreational activities can be supported in about 4,000 sq. ft. of roof space. Our assessment found that extending accessibility to the roof is economically infeasible and logistically challenging and recommend that a CCD1 Determination with the DOB be filed to request exemption from accessibility requirements. We completed a thorough bidding process and estimated the construction cost for this work to be $1.8 million, with a construction timeframe of 14‐20 weeks to complete the project.
