Construction of Earl Monroe Basketball School in the Bronx reaches halfway point

The school building's construction phase is slated to be completed in 2026

The Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, a 69,000-square-foot facility located in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx, was designed by ESKW/Architects and IMC Architecture. It will feature architectural facade elements inspired by field houses of the early 1900s, such as an arched entrance, as well as state-of-the-art media production, education and athletic facilities that will serve the school's 400-plus students in ninth through 12th grade. / Rendering provided by IMC Architecture

More than five years ago, plans for a school that mixes basketball with academics came to fruition.

Now, in 2025, officials announced that construction of the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School (EMNRBS) has reached the halfway point.

According to a release, the completion of a structural frame for the $35 million facility in The Bronx was designated as the “halfway milestone mark” in construction.

The five-story school building, which will be located at 647 Elton Ave. near the cross section of Third Avenue and East 152nd Street in the Mott Haven section of South Bronx, is slated to open its doors in 2026.

The Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School, which broke ground in late Sept. 2024, will house 24 regular classrooms, two science classrooms, an art studio, a library, a media production studio, a green screen broadcast studio and an 8,000-square-foot basketball court. ESKW/Architects and IMC Architecture incorporated large, glazed areas into the facade to both allow passersby to visually engage with activities taking place within and to remind students that they are part of the community. / Provided by IMC Architecture

The school is a charter, co-ed and tuition-free high school that will be first of its kind in the United States.

“It is a purpose-built, specialized high school with an academic curriculum entirely designed around basketball and the many career paths associated with the global game, from broadcast media to sports psychology, law, nutrition, facilities management and venture capital business,” the release noted.

The school’s leadership and students, former New York Knick John Wallace, Bronx borough president Vanessa Gibson, the architectural team of ESKW/Architects and IMC Architecture and more convened on Thursday to celebrate the project getting through half of construction so far.

The school was founded by Dan Klores, who created the New Renaissance Basketball Association (RENS) in 2013 to assist disadvantaged students with college admissions and scholarship awards.

Klores and NBA legend Earl “The Pearl” Monroe opened a school in Sept. 2021 at a temporary location at 1617 Parkview Ave. in the Bronx. Plans for the new school building began in 2019.

“We are celebrating the traditional topping out that marks the placement of the last steel beam of the structure and kicks off the final phase of the construction process. This milestone
wouldn’t be possible without the vision of our founder Dan Klores,” said Jack Irushalmi, the school’s board of trustee's vice chairman and president/CEO of Tri-Star Construction. “This will be an amazing state-of-the-art school for our incredible students, and I am looking forward to celebrating its opening next year.”

To create a large, column-free space in the gym area the engineers designed three supersized truss assemblies installed above the gym to support columns and bearing walls for the three levels above the gymnasium. Each truss is one story high and will be hidden inside walls on the third floor, which is immediately above the gym. / Peter Wilk/Wilk Marketing Communications

Upon completion, the 69,000-square-foot building will include the latest in athletic and learning technology, with a 8,000-square-foot gymnasium, 27 regular and specialty classrooms, a library and media production studio and broadcast studio with a green screen.

“This is a celebration of possibility,” said Kimberly Murphy, AIA, partner at ESKW/Architects. “We’re honored to be designing a school that will inspire students to pursue careers they may never have imagined. The new building will support a rigorous academic program rooted in the many career paths associated with basketball, from sports journalism and analytics to nutrition, law, business, and design.”

More coverage on construction of the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School is here.

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