NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – The ceremonial groundbreaking for a $55 million elementary school at 50 Jersey Ave. on Wednesday was hailed by the superintendent of schools as a “remarkable day” for the school district and the city. The 125,000 square-foot school, whose construction on a 4.25-acre tract is part of a sweeping $750 million project, is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023.

Under RWJ Barnabas Health’s ambitious plan, the state’s first free-standing cancer hospital will be built at 165 Somerset St. – where Lincoln Annex School had stood. The Board of Education sold the Lincoln Annex to the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO), which finished razing it earlier this week.

“We know this is going to be a remarkable school and one that our students will be proud to attend,” Superintendent Aubrey Johnson said. “But further, and what I think is really significant is while our students will have an impressive new school, the overall project will provide our city, our region, our state with one of the finest cancer treatment facilities anywhere. “We all know the expression win-win. When you can conceptualize a project, a model that provide the community with an excellent school and a state-of-the-art hospital, that is the true definition of a win-win.”

The replacement school will be named the Blanquita B. Valenti Community School.