An estimated $121.8 million state-funded build will replace a facility where 1,100 students attend school in a space designed for 785. Current seventh and eighth graders will graduate before the September 2028 opening.

West New York packs what Superintendent Clara Brito Herrera calls 1,100 students into a middle school built for 785, according to a March 2023 Hudson County View interview. The building currently lacks sixth graders — the district removed them years ago as the 785-seat facility swelled past capacity. On June 18 the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) broke ground on an estimated $121.8 million replacement at 6400 Broadway between 64th and 65th Streets, but the concrete will not cure fast enough for the kids currently attending the overcrowded building. The new building has an anticipated opening of September 2028.

The harder truth sits in Herrera's March 2023 interview with the Hudson County View, where she noted the current middle school "was supposed to host 785 students maximum" and now holds 1,100 with "only a configuration of grades 7 and 8." Mayor Albio Sires confirmed the crunch at an October 2025 site visit, putting the building's capacity at 850, possibly reflecting a broader building count. The missing sixth graders attend somewhere else. Herrera noted students currently travel outside the building for instrumental music instruction. The overcrowded facility cannot accommodate the program.

At the June 18 ceremony, Herrera said the new school would nurture curiosity, celebrate talent and realize potential. SDA CEO Manuel Da Silva emphasized collaboration, according to the Hudson County View. "Alongside our skilled contractors, dedicated school officials, committed local officials, and community members, we gather here with a shared vision and purpose to construct a new school that will create better and brighter educational opportunities for West New York students," he said.

The site at 6400 Broadway had sat vacant for years after previous administrations considered alternative uses, including a proposed recreation center that local officials said was not feasible on state-owned school land. The lot previously housed an old pipe factory, according to Sires. APS Contracting began demolishing the old structures in May 2025, under an early site preparation contract advertised that January. Da Silva said in October 2025 that work would begin in summer 2026, though the SDA database listed the building construction start as 'TBD' as of April 1, 2026.

The SDA awarded Terminal Construction Corporation a $91.75 million design-build contract in November 2025, with DMR Architects on design and EPIC Management managing construction. SSP Architectural Group received $1,444,516 as bridging consultant. APS Contracting began the $2,248,000 demolition phase in May 2025.

The new building will span approximately 162,000 square feet with capacity for 876 students in grades six through eight. The program includes six science labs, a STEAM lab, vocal and instrumental music rooms, an auditorium, a gymnasium, a media center and a cafeteria. Herrera said in October 2025 that the school will have a significant performing arts component. The SDA requires LEED certification on all new schools, and this project pursues LEED Silver, a tier above baseline certification.

Once complete, this $121.8 million project will become the seventh capital project the SDA has delivered in West New York since the program began. The SDA has invested more than $216 million in completed capital projects in the municipality, though a broader state tally reached $221 million as of October 2025. The West New York project sits within a capital plan that the SDA says faces a $6 to $7 billion unaddressed need gap, with over 10,000 new seats required across 16 districts and more than 100 aging facilities needing replacement or major modernization.

West New York sits in Hudson County, New Jersey's eighth congressional district. The municipality qualifies for SDA funding under the state's wealth-based formula. Under the Abbott doctrine, the state is constitutionally obligated to fund school facilities in SDA districts, meaning West New York taxpayers do not bear the capital cost directly. The school board and superintendent advocate; the SDA manages procurement and construction under state authority, with local school officials participating in planning but not controlling capital decisions.

The state budget carries a $50 million annual appropriation for SDA emergent and maintenance projects in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, but this estimated $121.8 million build draws from prior-year allocations from the New Jersey Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund, not the $50 million emergent-maintenance line. The SDA will receive its final disbursement from that fund in fiscal year 2029 and will then rely on remaining bond authority and other sources.

For the students currently attending the overcrowded building, the timeline is fixed. Current seventh and eighth graders would graduate before the building opens, and current sixth graders attending elsewhere would age out of middle school before occupancy. The anticipated opening, if the timeline holds, arrives in September 2028, two years and three months from the groundbreaking, for students who have not yet enrolled.

Sources

• New Jersey Schools Development Authority, Notice of Solicitation, Contract No. HU-0030-N01, "New Middle School — Demolition and Early Site Preparation" (January 10, 2025)

• New Jersey Schools Development Authority, ProjectSchoolDetails, vProjectID=17-5670-N02 (April 1, 2026)

• New Jersey Schools Development Authority, "SDA Response to OLS Questions," FY 2026-2027 (accessed June 22, 2026)

• New Jersey Schools Development Authority, "Sustainable Schools" (accessed June 22, 2026)

• Dan Israel, Hudson County View, "New Jersey SDA breaks ground on new West New York middle school" (June 18, 2026)

• Daniel Ulloa, Hudson County View, "New Jersey SDA and West New York officials visit site of future middle school" (October 6, 2025)

• EIN Presswire, "New Jersey Schools Development Authority Breaks Ground on New Middle School in West New York" (June 19, 2026)

• John Heinis, Hudson County View, "West New York officials reveal plans for new middle school, Sires team backs BOE slate" (March 20, 2023)

• DMR Architects, "Leadership," Pradeep Kapoor biography (accessed June 22, 2026)