READS finishes work on Jersey City Community Charter School addition

Yearlong, $8 million project adds gym, cafeteria, capacity for greater enrollment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

METUCHEN (Nov. 21, 2008) – Students at Jersey City Community Charter School will have a new place to eat their lunches and attend gym class, thanks to a just-finished addition to their school.

The construction project, which began in August 2007, was managed by Real Estate Advisory and Development Services Inc. A nonprofit based on Amboy Avenue in Metuchen that has helped charter schools around the states with their facilities project, READS arranged full financing for the $8 million project from The Reinvestment Fund of Philadelphia.

"One of the most significant benchmarks any charter school must achieve, is reaching the right size for its student body to support its program adequately," said Brian Keenan, president and founder of READS. "Today, with this addition, Jersey City Community Charter School reached that happy turning point, and is building equity toward a great, bright future."

The project adds a total 25,000 square feet to the school, at 128 Danforth Ave., Jersey City. In addition to the gymnasium and cafeteria, the addition also includes enough space to raise enrollment at the school to about 600 students. Current enrollment is 572 students, in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The school has been leasing two buildings on Summit Avenue, about a mile from its Danforth Avenue campus. The school will continue to use this remote site to house its students in sixth through eighth grades.

In recognition of the school's contributions to Jersey City, and of what the addition means to the school, The Reinvestment Fund of Philadelphia awarded the project its prestigious George Bailey Award for Excellence in Community Development. The project is named for the protagonist in the 1946 Frank Capra film "It's A Wonderful Life," George Bailey, whose generous spirit gave homes, hope and dignity to hundreds of his fellow townspeople.

READS is a nonprofit real estate development company committed to building strong organizations and communities. Since its inception in 2003 READS has helped dozens of charter schools to obtain and build facilities that meet their needs.

READS provides all phases of real estate development and technical assistance, including financial structuring and project management. READS has been recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education with the Corporate Partnership Award for its work with charter schools and by the U.S. Department of Education as a promising practice in real estate development.

For more information, call Keenan at (732) 635-1000, or call the charter school at (201) 433-2288.

On the web:
www.readsusa.com
www.jcccsonline.org

READS receives $50,000 grant from Bodman Foundation

Support aids nonprofit's work with charter schools in North Jersey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

METUCHEN (Nov. 6, 2008) – READS has received a $50,000 grant to support its work with charter schools in northern New Jersey from the Bodman Foundation.

Founded in 2003 and based in Metuchen, Real Estate Advisory and Development Services Inc. provides on-the-ground support for charter schools as they seek and take possession of permanent facilities of their own. READS has helped literally dozens of charter schools throughout the state in this situation, lining up lenders willing to finance the work, and then managing the development project on the school's behalf.

"New Jersey's charter schools provide high-quality education services, but the majority lack the capacity or knowledge to buy property and develop facilities either to open or to meet the needs of their growing enrollments," said Brian Keenan, president and founder of READS. "Thanks to this generous grant from the Bodman Foundation, READS can continue to help bring these facilities efforts to fruition, so that school leaders and their boards of directors can stay focused on providing an education to their students."

The $50,000 grant READS received from the Bodman Foundation will support its work of developing facilities for charter schools in Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Passaic counties. Services made possible by the grant include assisting schools in determining the viability and feasibility of a project, and project management.

READS already provides real estate development services to four charter schools in the proposed service area: Marion P. Thomas Charter School in Newark, Community Charter School of Paterson, Jersey City Community Charter School, and Teaneck Community Charter School.

The Bodman Foundation was established by George M. Bodman and his wife, Louise Clarke Bodman, in 1945. The Bodman Foundation's Certificate of Incorporation states that its funds are to be used for "the aid, support or benefit of religious, educational, charitable, and benevolent objects and purposes for the moral, ethical and physical well-being and progress of mankind." Since its founding, the Bodman Foundation has made nearly $80 million in grants.

"The Bodman Foundation is well known for its generosity in supporting worthwhile causes," said Keenan. "The generosity reflected in this grant will be a tremendous boon not only to us, but to every student in these schools where their grant enables us to work."

READS is a nonprofit real estate development company committed to building strong organizations and communities. Since its inception in 2003 READS has helped dozens of charter schools to obtain and build facilities that meet their needs.

READS provides all phases of real estate development and technical assistance, including financial structuring and project management. READS has been recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education with the Corporate Partnership Award for its work with charter schools and by the U.S. Department of Education as a promising practice in real estate development.

For more information, call Keenan at (732) 635-1000.

On the web:
www.readsusa.com
http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/achelis-bodman

READS secures funding to finance purchase of land for Sparta school

First-of-its-kind sale makes nonprofit a landlord, not a facilitator

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

METUCHEN (Nov. 3, 2008) -- When it comes to helping a charter school in Sparta get a building, READS is going the extra mile.

A nonprofit based on Amboy Avenue in Metuchen, Real Estate Advisory and Development Services Inc. (READS) has helped dozens of charter schools secure their futures by arranging financing and developing for their school facilities. But for Sussex County Charter School for Technology, READS is taking its involvement further than it ever has gone before. The nonprofit real esate company is buying a piece of property and developing a facility, which it will rent to the school.

“There are multiple benefits to this arrangement for Sussex Charter School Technology. For one it can stay focused on educating its students, knowing that READS will be doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to the development of their new school facility. They'll also have control over the design, so that the finished facility is all that they dream it will be,” said Brian Keenan, president and chief executive officer of READS. “It is READS’ intent to then sell the school the facility in a few years so they too can reap the benefits of real estate ownership.

The new school facility will be located on a 3-acre lot, now vacant, at 385 N. Church St., in the historic district of Sparta. By using manufactured units, READS will be able to keep most of the construction off-site. Once the buildings have been erected, plans call for additional on-site work to ensure the school facility matches the character of the historic district.

The entire project is expected to cost $4.5 million. READS signed an agreement to buy the site late last week. Actual work would begin in the spring, once the facility receives planning approval, with a projected completion date of March 2010.

Sussex County Charter School, one of the first charter schools in the state to win approval, now serves 100 students in seventh and eighth grades. The new facility would allow the school to begin offering sixth-grade classes and to double its enrollment, to 200 students.

READS is a nonprofit real estate development company committed to building strong organizations and communities. Since its inception in 2003 READS has helped dozens of charter schools to obtain and build facilities that meet their needs.

READS provides all phases of real estate development and technical assistance, including financial structuring and project management. READS has been recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education with the Corporate Partnership Award for its work with charter schools and by the U.S. Department of Education as a promising practice in real estate development.

For more information, call Keenan at (732) 635-1000, or call the charter school at (973) 383-6700 .

On the web:
www.readsusa.com
http://charter.sussex.tec.nj.us

READS moves charter school from tenant to owner

Academy Charter High School buys facility for $2.8 million

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAKE COMO (Nov. 3, 2008) – With the stroke of a pen, Academy Charter High School on Friday took possession of the building it has been renting for the past decade.

Purchase of the school was made possible through Real Estate Advisory and Development Services Inc. (READS) of Metuchen. READS, well known in New Jersey for its services to the charter school community, structured the financing package and helped the school to secure $2.8 million in financing from The Reinvestment Fund of Philadelphia.

“Owning their own facility is one of the most important steps in the growth of any charter school,” said Brian Keenan, president and chief executive officer of READS. “In addition to letting the school build equity in its own real estate, it leaves the school no longer beholden to a landlord, and free to focus their attention more squarely on their program.”

Due to the financing arranged by READS, Academy Charter High School also will have a monthly mortgage payment lower than what the school had been spending each month on rent. Because charter schools lack facilities support from the state and must pay rent from their operations budget, the lower payments mean the school will be able to dedicate more of its budget to its primary mission of educating the students.

A free public high school for residents of Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Avon, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Deal, Interlaken, and Lake Como, Academy Charter High School is dedicated to providing a challenging, nurturing environment for children to reach their social and academic potential is maximized. The school has an enrollment of 203 students.

READS is a nonprofit real estate development company committed to building strong organizations and communities. Since its inception in 2003 READS has helped dozens of charter schools to obtain and build facilities that meet their needs.

READS provides all phases of real estate development and technical assistance, including financial structuring and project management. READS has been recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education with the Corporate Partnership Award for its work with charter schools and by the U.S. Department of Education as a promising practice in real estate development.

For more information, call Keenan at (732) 635-1000, or call the charter school at (732) 681-8377 .

On the web:
www.readsusa.com
www.academycharterhs.org