School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and project owner Gilbane have begun operations for the new Northeast Community Propel Academy in the USA.

The new school is a 180,000 square foot K-8 facility and can accommodate approximately 1,600 students. With a total investment of around US$80 million, the school campus includes clusters of classrooms and collaborative zones around shared media and tech commons within each grade level house. The overall arrangement efficiently combines collaborative areas for small learning groups adjacent to media and tech commons, promoting ease of collaboration and the ability to allow for directed break-out activities appropriate to grade-level needs.

Stantec provided architecture, interior design, and civil engineering services for the facility while Gilbane Building Company served as the design-builder and Gilbane Development Company as the developer.