The New Kensington Zoning Hearing Board approved a special exception use permit Thursday night for a proposed after-school STEM academy.
The nonprofit, R&D Impact Foundation plans to open the SparX Academy at 1250 Fifth Ave.
According to Thomas Roberts Sr., the foundation’s treasurer, R&D proposed a “significant remodeling” for the building to add classrooms and other features.
“We’re prepared with architects and drawings,” Roberts, of New Kensington, told TribLive prior to Thursday’s zoning board hearing. “We’re just about ready to go to bid. We just need this approval before we do.”
Zoning officer Tony Males said the board found out about the project from a newspaper article published earlier this year. Though already zoned as a commercial building, the building’s educational use required the permit to continue on to the next steps.
The R&D Impact Foundation has offered after-school STEM programming to students in New Kensington and Arnold for about two years, Roberts said. The new space will continue to grow those efforts. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Prior to the proposed after-school program space, the foundation offered classes out of the Salvation Army building in New Kensington, Roberts said.
“We’re kind of outgrowing our vision in the Salvation Army,” Roberts said. “It took us awhile to find the proper building.”
Roberts said the size and location of the building on 1250 Fifth Ave. heavily influenced the foundation’s choice. The building formerly housed Geo-Solutions Inc.
“It had to be close by so the kids could get there,” Roberts said.
According to Heather Werkeiser, a Canzian/Johnston & Associates architect heading the project, the first phase of work will be interior work. They will be completely renovating the inside, she said.
“We will probably paint the building to make it a little bit more fun for the kids,” Werkeiser said. “In the future, there are plans to make it into a campus setting.”
Nicole Roberts, Roberts’ daughter and the foundation’s director of program management, previously told TribLive the building renovation is planned in three phases. The first phase will include building classrooms and a makerspace, or an area designed for students to create things hands-on. That phase will be completed next spring.
They will open after phase one, while continuing work on a larger makerspace and community room.
Thomas Roberts said the program will first focus on students from third to seventh grades in the New Kensington and Arnold area, with plans to expand to first grade through 12th.
“We’re very optimistic,” he said. “We’re very excited about the program for New Kensington.”
Anthony Underwood, vice president of student affairs for Westmoreland County Community College, submitted a letter of support on behalf of the college’s president, Kristin Mallory. The college’s New Kensington branch is next door to the planned SparX Academy.
“The proposed after-school STEM academy is directly aligned with educational and workforce development needs of the kids in the community,” Underwood quoted in part from the letter.
Programming will be free for families, Nicole Roberts said during the hearing. She said any student who lives in New Kensington and Arnold are welcome to attend. They will also be provided meals while attending programs.
“We make sure the kids have both nourishment of the mind and the body,” she said.
Eventually, the foundation plans to expand to other communities. Currently, the Academy plans to have three teachers for every 20 students. Some of those teachers are also New Kensington-Arnold School District educators.
Over the years, the foundation has served over 250 students, Nicole Roberts said.
She is a former administrator in the New Kensington-Arnold School District. New Kensington is her hometown.
The Academy is funded by the R&D Impact Foundation, whose primary donors are Tom Roberts Jr. and his wife, Susan DaSilva. Tom and Nicole are siblings.
“We thought it was a perfect fit to support the education in the community with STEM,” Thomas Roberts Sr. said.