As part of a community redevelopment program, HOK New York and Cliffside Park, N.J.-based RSC Architects have teamed up to create the new Union City Demonstration High School, a 366,550-sq.-ft. project that features an athletic stadium on the roof.

The design team included HOK and RSC as well as a collaboration with the Union City Board of Education, Union City Redevelopment Agency, the City of Union City, and the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.

The facility will be situated on the site of the former Roosevelt Stadium, a venue that housed events in semipro baseball, soccer, concerts, carnivals, and even an exhibition baseball game featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The design team included a promenade near the school's entrance to emphasize the stadium's history.

The site was originally considered for an indoor athletic and recreational facility. But the design team decided to do "more with less" with a rooftop stadium instead, which includes a high school regulation-sized baseball field, soccer and football field, and a grandstand area. Not limited to the roof, the school will also contain a three-station gymnasium, weight rooms, and locker rooms for both the indoor and outdoor programs.

This will be Union City's only high school and will contain 66 general classrooms, small-group instruction space, science labs, home economic labs, and a new media center. The center is located off the courtyard, creating both indoor and outdoor study areas for the students. It will also serve the general public, functioning as a library after school hours. The arts program will also be enhanced with a 980-spectator auditorium, a black box performance space, dance studio, and new space for a fashion classroom, television production studio, and photography studios.