Keyport set to take bids on its new borough hall 18,000-sq.-ft. facility likely to become West Front Street focal point

Keyport set to take bids on its new borough hall
18,000-sq.-ft. facility
likely to become West Front Street focal point

KEYPORT — The final construction plans for the borough’s new municipal building are in, paving the way for the Borough Council to go out to bid by the end of the month.

At its meeting last night, the council was expected to pass a resolution authorizing Borough Administrator Judith Poling to advertise for bids for the construction of the building.

The borough had been hoping to break ground on the vacant West Front Street lot earlier this year, but had to wait for the site plans to be finalized by the borough’s architect, Ned Gaunt of Kaplan, Gaunt, DeSantis Architects, Red Bank.

According to Gaunt, finalizing the plans did not require any substantial changes from the original plans.

"Most of the information within those plans was part of a refinement process," he said. "There were no major changes to the original plans except that we reduced the size of the basement a little bit."

The 18,000-square-foot facility, once complete, will house the borough’s police department as well as all of its administrative and professional offices. The first floor will include the police department as well as the municipal court and all of its administrators.

The second floor will house the borough’s administrative staff, including the clerk’s office, the finance department, the property maintenance officer, the health department and the mayor’s office.

The basement will include several storage facilities, a workout room, equipped with both men’s and women’s locker rooms and showers, and offices for the emergency management and fire departments.

The building will be constructed on the north side of West Front Street, a short distance west of Main Street, where the current borough hall is located. It will be directly across from the Seaport mini-mall, in the midst of the downtown district.

Gaunt said that the structure should take about one year to build, and added that his firm will remain involved in the construction administration while also providing the borough with any necessary interior design services.

The building was designed to have a masonry exterior of largely brick with stone accents so as to blend with the surrounding architecture. The rectangular structure will have windows facing West Front Street and the rear parking area, but none on the sides because of the proximity of neighboring buildings.

The parking area for the building will be accessible from Main Street.

According to Gaunt, the building is expected to cost a little over $3 million, but the final price tag will depend on the bids received. In the past, the Borough Council has discussed selling the existing borough hall to help with the cost. That sale may result in a $200,000 gain.

The new hall is special to the borough because the current hall, which has been used since the 1950s, is a former Jersey Central Power and Light office building.

The new building became necessary because the present police headquarters does not comply with federal standards and the council chambers and courtroom are located on the second floor, which are only accessible by stairs.