Montco private school to build a new $52 million campus

The Montgomery County school is set to educate about 350 students at what was formerly the Butler Pike headquarters of Emergency Care Research Institute sometime in 2026.

The exterior of the ECRI headquarters on Butler Pike in Plymouth Meeting. The 20-acre property was purchased by the nonprofit Gemma Services late last year, and is set to be turned into a new $52 million campus for Gemma's Martin Luther School.Read moreCourtesy ECRI

by Erin McCarthy

Published May 13, 2025, 2:13 p.m. ET

A Plymouth Meeting private school is building a new $52 million campus on the former site of a healthcare research company in the same town.

Gemma Services, the nonprofit that runs the Martin Luther School, bought the Butler Pike headquarters of Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) for $13.9 million in December, according to property records. Last month, Gemma announced a three-year, $3 million capital campaign to support the new school’s construction, which is also being funded by a private grant, bank financing, and proposed municipal funding, according to the nonprofit.

Gemma executives say they expect the Martin Luther School to move down the road from its current location on Township Line Road to the 20-acre property sometime in 2026.

The school educates K-12 students who need emotional and behavioral support and are referred from dozens of Philadelphia-area school districts “for a holistic special education program,” according to Gemma.

Originally a K-8 school, it expanded in recent years to include high school grades, adding them one year at a time, Gemma’s president and CEO, Kristen Gay, said in a statement.

“Throughout this time of exciting growth for our school, we outgrew our current school facilities,” Gay said, “and our vision for a new, best-in-class school campus took shape.”

The relocated and expanded campus will educate about 350 students. Plans include more than 30 classrooms, an “electives suite” with art and music spaces, a library, a black box theater, two cafeterias, a gym, and counseling facilities, according to a statement from Gemma. Outside, they are planning playgrounds, outdoor learning spaces, and a track, field, and stadium.

ECRI announced in December that it plans to move to another Philadelphia-area location, the details of which will be unveiled sometime this year.

“This milestone move is exciting since it reflects how efficiently ECRI has grown in recent years,” president and CEO Marcus Schabacker said in a statement. ECRI, which evaluates the safety of medical devices, has a “largely remote-virtual workforce” with employees in nearly three-quarters of U.S. states.