New York STEAM Pre-K Center Begins Construction

New York City officials including Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the start of construction of a new state-of-the-art Pre-K Center in Flushing Meadows – Corona Park, Queens on Oct. 31. The center will focus on early childhood STEAM education, offering a first of its kind in New York City. The center is partnering with New York Hall of Science to offer teachers, students and families direct access to resources.

“Free, full-day, high-quality Pre-K puts our kids on the path to success, and we have made it a right – not a privilege – for every 4-year-old in New York City,” said Mayor de Blasio. “This new Pre-K Center is proof of our commitment to expanding Pre-K to meet the needs of every community, and investing in state-of-the-art STEAM education for our children.”

The Pre-K Center will serve 300 students and will feature 17 Pre-K classrooms, two exercise rooms and outdoor playground and a community and parent room. The center is being built by the School Construction Authority and is scheduled to open in Fall 2021.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • Girl Sitting at Library Desk, Using Laptop

    How Campus Design Shapes the Finals Week Experience

    Academic performance is not just about preparation. It is closely tied to how students manage stress, maintain their energy, and shift between work and recovery modes. Much of that is influenced, directly or indirectly, by design.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.