New Middletown Town Hall: Construction Starts In Spring 2019 (2024)

The existing Middletown Twp. building is basically falling apart. Construction starts in the spring and it will open in the summer of 2021.

Posted Thu, Dec 13, 2018 at 11:56 am ET|Updated Mon, Dec 17, 2018 at 4:01 pm ET

Pictured above is a rendering of how the new town hall will look. Middletown needs a new township building because the current one, at the intersection of Kings Highway and Rt. 35, was built more than 60 years ago and is basically falling apart. For example, the lower level of town hall floods regularly in any large rainstorm. There are potential issues with air quality and mold in the building, which will only get worse in coming years.

Middletown's town hall houses the municipal court, Twp. offices and the police department. The existing facilities for female officers, particularly the locker room and showers, are inadequate for the growing number of Middletown's female police, the Twp. said.

In fact, Middletown's aging township building has even left the Twp. vulnerable to potential lawsuits, as it is not compliant with today's ADA regulations.

“The Township can no longer put a Band Aid on this problem; we have been subjected to litigation over ADA compliance, tort claims over working conditions, and our municipal court operations are in jeopardy over security concerns,” said Township Administrator Tony Mercantante.

He also said simply renovating the existing town hall is not an option, because those changes alone would cost a minimum of $20 million, and would still only make the building minimally compliant. The Twp. would also have to find space to house the police department and municipal court for the next two to three years while renovations are done, and there is simply not space large enough in the area.

Middletown has reached an agreement to construct a new Town Hall at the same location without having to borrow money, or incur any debt for Middletown taxpayers. The Twp. entered a redevelopment agreement to sell or lease two commercial pad sites along Rt. 35, which the Twp. says will generate millions in revenue and help offset the costs of construction of a new Township building.

The pad sites are two buildings that are currently on the same property as Town Hall.

The new municipal complex will be constructed for a guaranteed maximum contract price through a capital sale leaseback under which the township will make annual lease payments for 30 years to a developer, Brandywine Acquisitions and Development. Essentially, Brandywine will take control of the land and charge the township rent.

Brandywine will be the landowner for the next 30 years and ownership of the two properties will revert back to Middletown once the final payment is made. The Township entered into a public-private agreement with Brandywine Acquisitions & Development. Brandywine will front the cost to build the new municipal complex and Middletown doesn’t have to start making payments until 26 months from the date of financing. Brandywine will then recoup its investment by leasing the complex back to Middletown for 30 years. At the end of the 30-year lease, the town can by the property back from Brandywine for $1.

The revenue from the pad sites will help offset the township’s payments to Brandywine.

At the Dec. 6 Council meeting, Eric Moore, the developer from Brandywine, said there has been a lot of interest in the two pad sites, but it has not yet been determined who will be leasing them.

The Township Committee will vote on whether or not to sell the pad sites to Brandywine at their upcoming Monday, December 17 meeting at 8 p.m.

“A lot has changed in Middletown in the last 60 years except for our town hall, which has undergone piecemeal renovations over decades creating a number of significant problems that can no longer be ignored,” said Middletown Mayor Kevin Settembrino. “The public-private partnership will enable us to expeditiously construct a new state-of-the art facility with a minimal impact on taxpayers that will be further offset through revenue generated by the sale or lease of two pad sites along Route 35.”

The Township will subdivide the two pad sites, which can be sold outright or leased through the redeveloper who would either operate or sell them with the Township. These sites will also become taxable commercial property. If the Township sells them outright, 60% of the sale price for the pads would immediately be received by the Township. Under a lease arrangement, the Township would receive 50% of the revenue without any responsibility for operation. In either scenario, the Township will also receive new tax revenue from the pad sites.

New Brunswick, Jersey City, Union County and Gloucester County have done similar sale leasebacks of public land.

The anticipated construction start date for the new municipal complex is spring of 2019 and it is scheduled to open in the summer of 2021.

More answers can be found here: https://www.middletownnj.org/5...

All images provided by Middletown Twp.