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Banneker Ventures Set to Deliver Walker Jones Education Complex in Record Time WASHINGTON, DC – April 2, 2009 – Banneker Ventures, LLC announced today that the Walker Jones Education Complex is set to open in August 2009, less than 24 months since the initial design began, which would represent the fastest designed and built public school ever completed in Washington, DC. The facility, located at 100 L Street, N.W., is the first public facility to be built as part of the Northwest One New Communities Initiative. This striking new 120,000 square foot facility replaces two existing District of Columbia Public School facilities on the site and an adjacent site. The facilities include a 100,000 square foot pre-k through 8 school, containing classrooms, labs, a media center, cafeteria, stage and offices. The School will share a gymnasium with a 12,000 square foot community recreation center and new athletic fields and playgrounds. A glass curtain wall will invite community members to a 6,000 square foot library that will be part of the Center and that will replace an old kiosk library nearby. The Education and Recreation Complex is a new model for co-locating community facilities with libraries and schools in the District. The collective facilities will share resources such as common utilities, mechanical systems and maintenance. The facility is being built for LEED™ Certification and will include a green roof. It is being built by Forrester Construction and Columbia Enterprises. Regan Associates serves as co-program manager with Banneker. The Walker Jones project is a part of the $700 million Northwest One New Community project, which includes building more than 1,600 new units of housing - apartments, condos and townhouses - to replace the troubled Sursum Corda and Temple Courts housing complexes and improve under-used government-owned land. Omar A. Karim, Founder and Principal of Banneker, said: "Banneker is proud to work with the visionary leadership within the District of Columbia Government to bring the first new public asset to the Northwest One Community what will be record time. The Walker Jones Education Complex is a shining example of what can be accomplished when children's and the community's needs are put first." |
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