Feasibility Study Probes Future Of West Orange Municipal Buildings

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Town Council heard a presentation about the potential futures of some key municipal properties during their meeting earlier this week.

Musial Group Architecture reported the findings of a long-awaited “feasibility study” to the council at their Tuesday meeting. View the presentation and planning documents here.

According to the firm, the town is currently using two properties to house their municipal departments: 66 Main Street and 25 Lakeside Avenue.

The West Orange Municipal Building at 66 Main Street is home to the mayor’s office, building and code enforcement, the town clerk and tax assessor offices and more. The offices and vehicle storage space at 25 Lakeside Avenue houses the engineering department and shuttle bus coordinates/drivers/parking.

According to the presentation from Musial Group, the Township of West Orange has determined that they want to relocate some municipal departments into two other facilities at:

• 46 Mt. Pleasant Avenue – The available floor space will be used partially by the municipality and the balance to be used by a third party.
• 10 Rooney Circle – The upper floor and part of the lower floor is the location of the existing West Orange Public Library that will remain at this location. The municipality will occupy the remaining spaces at the lower level.

Here are some pros and cons for several scenarios, the presentation stated (see bulletpoints below):

Here are some other things to consider, according to the presentation:

• “Relocating departments that interact with the public to the easiest accessible middle level of the Town Hall building would be advisable. The middle level is the most accessible level from the adjacent parking area.”
• “Departments that are not visited by the public as often as others could be located at upper and lower the levels of the Town Hall. These levels require one to travel through stairs or a further distance than the middle level in an elevator.”
• “The property at 46 Mt. Pleasant Avenue is adjacent to the Town Hall. Moving some of the municipal department to this facility will allow the visitors to maintain access to the Town Hall while visiting this location.”
• “The property at 10 Rooney Circle is not a walking distance from the Town Hall or the senior living center adjacent to the Town Hall. It will require a vehicle to transport people approximately 10 minutes away from the Town Hall area.”

Preliminary construction cost estimates come to a total of $4.32 million:

• 66 Main Street - $152,805
• 46 Mt. Pleasant Avenue - $2,051,600
• 10 Rooney Circle - $2,122,000

Watch footage from the June 24 council meeting below (video is cued to the presentation):

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