Plans for Red Bank’s new City Hall are underway, with construction expected to begin in late summer or early fall, according to City Manager Randall Smith.
David Hudson of Artech Design Group presented preliminary plans to members of the City Commission for the first time at their June 7 work session.
Purchased by the city earlier this year, the building, which is located at 3105 Dayton Blvd., two doors down from the current City Hall, will house the city’s administration. The current City Hall will continue to be used by the Police Department and for City Court, said Smith.
“The Police Department is cramped and the administration is cramped,” he said during the work session, as to the need for a new building to replace the administrative function of the current City Hall, which was built in 1968.
In addition to administrative offices, the new location will include a multipurpose room to be used for meetings of the City Commission as well as other public meetings related to city business, said Smith.
He said the inside of the steel-on-slab structure will be gutted, giving workers a clean state for the interior of the building.
The concrete block on the exterior will be maintained and painted in a darker color, and all windows and doors will be replaced, said Hudson.
“The idea is to create a new, modern building for the city,” he said.
Hudson presented commissioners with two color schemes: a shade of peach similar to that of the current City Hall, and a dark gray.
He estimated the maximum cost for the project to be $716,709, adding that there are multiple ways to significantly reduce this amount.
For instance, the estimate includes bulletproof glass on all exterior windows and doors at a cost of $80,000, which could be reduced, and the city could also do much of the work in-house, further reducing costs, said Hudson.
His estimate included all-new furniture, a cost which he said could be reduced by half by going with used items. He also pointed out that if the overall cost of the project decreases, the amounts of the architect fees and contingency funds determined by state standards will decrease as well.
Smith said the city has $450,000 set aside for the project in the fiscal year 2016-17 budget, and he expects the amount the city will actually spend to be close to that figure.
“I think this is a functional plan, and something that will serve us in years to come,” he said.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.