I.M. Pei-designed IBM campus in Somers could become private, STEAM high school

A proposed school with a science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) curriculum could open at the site of a former IBM campus in Westchester County by the summer of 2021, LoHud reported. Evergreen Ridge, a school campus development firm that presented its plans last September for the 723-acre campus in Somers, hopes to build a private, co-ed high school on around 345 acres at the site, which was designed by the recently deceased I.M. Pei and vacated by IBM a few years ago. A spokeswoman for the president and CEO of New York-based Sebastian Capital, which owns the property, told LoHud the original plan was to open the first phase of the for-profit school in September 2020, but said the new plan, to start a summer program in 2021, will be more on par with the review process the project needs to go through. The outlet noted that Evergreen Ridge plans to use 1.2 million square feet across all five Pei-designed buildings, including a distinctive pyramid-like structure. IBM sold its former campus for $31.75 million to a limited liability company in 2016. Somers Town Supervisor Rick Morrissey expressed enthusiasm for the project, saying it “would be in the best interest of the town.” [LoHud]