New $8.2M Lower Pottsgrove Building Unveiled

Photos by Evan Brandt

An artist's rendering of the proposed new Lower Pottsgrove Township building as seen from South Pleasantview Road that was presented last night to the township commissioners and the public. 

At left, is a look at the building footprint on the corner.

The public got its first look at the proposed new Lower Pottsgrove Township building Monday night as well as its hefty $8.2 million price tag.

The presentation was made by Alloy 5, the Bethlehem-based architecture and engineering firm that has been working with the township commissioners' infrastructure committee for months.

The building, if the commissioners continue to move ahead with the plan, would be located at the southeast corner of East High Street and South Pleasantview Road.

Here is the video of the virtual tour of the new building as presented last night:

The current police headquarters is in the basement of
the Lower Pottsgrove Township building.

As proposed, the single-story building would be 16,000 square feet divided into two connecting wings; one for township administration offices and another, larger wing for the police department.

The current township building at the corner of Buchert and North Pleasantvew roads was built in
1989 is only 7,500 square feet, said Township Manager Ed Wagner.

The police station, located in the basement of the township building, is unsafe, said Commissioner Earl Swavely, himself the former chief of the West Pottsgrove Police Department.

"The need is there," said Commissioner Robert Mohollen. "We have no cells. They have to handcuff a suspect to a bench while they're trying to hide him from a victim. That's terrible."

The blue area of the floorplan is devoted to the police department
which would face South Pleasantview Road. The gold area at the
left is the administration area, which would face East High Street.

But the police area may not have to be so big, said Commissioner Mike McGroarty, who said the work of the infrastructure committee has dragged him "kicking and screaming" to the conclusion that a new building is needed, and that the current building cannot be practically expanded.

But he said he remembers being told the plan has space for 30 officers and the current force is at 20. "So we might be able to scale that back for some savings," he said.

Commissioner Ray Lopez, who heads up the infrastructure committee, said if the commissioners decide to move forward with the new building, the current building would most likely be sold.

However, because of a glut of office space in Montgomery County, he said he doubts the township could get much more than $1 million for it.

Michael Metzger

Mohollen said the township's infrastructure tax was set up a few years ago to pay for projects like this, although some borrowing will probably be necessary. He said any tax increases to pay for the building would be incremental.

That was cold comfort for resident Robin Smith who said the township's taxes are already too high.

"Have you seen how many houses in town are up for foreclosure?" she asked "We can't afford any more taxes."

Architect Michael Metzger said the current estimate is for $282 per square foot. For comparison, the firm looked at new township buildings being built in Upper Uwchlan, Whitehall and Hampden, which have prices of $300, $295 and $359 per square feet respectively.

"We're trending right where we need to be," he said of the price estimates.

This view shows how the building is aligned at the corner
of the intersection of E. High Street and S. Pleasantvew Road.

Whether or not the building is where it needs to be was another question raised Monday night. The current plan calls for the building to be nestled up against the corner of the intersection.

But former commissioner Tom Troutman pointed out that an increase in traffic might require a left-turn lane to be added to South Pleasantview Road, as was done on the other side of High Street.

The current location might preclude that in the future, he warned.

If constructed as planned, the commissioners would meet in a
1,000 square foot room with seating for 78, considerably larger
than the current public meeting room.

Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. said should the commissioners decide to move forward there is no required time frame, but the next step would be to approve the schematic; then hire professionals to do the full blow architecture and engineering drawings.

That done, the commissioners would then have to put the project out to bid, and, when those bids are received, decide whether to accept them or not.

"At the same time, you should also probably investigate the financing for the project," said Garner. "There are at least three or four votes ahead of you before construction begins."

Before settling on a design for the new building, township officials
visited numerous other municipal buildings for input.

When (and if) it does, the project would probably take 18 months to complete, said Metzger.

But before things get to that point, several residents asked if the matter could be put to the voters in a town-wide referendum.

Garner said there is no way to force the commissioners to put the matter on the ballot and he said he is not even sure such a matter is among the things election law allows to be decided in the voting booth.

And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting:

Building for the Future