Report suggests new township hall, fire station
The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees on Monday, January 27, received a formal report from an architectural firm retained to review the current township hall on the Telegraph Road municipal campus and fire station number three, with the analysis suggesting that replacement of the township hall and the fire hall would be the preferred approach in the future to provide necessary expanded space for government operations.
Redstone Architects, a firm noted for its extensive experience with buildings for law enforcement and public safety departments, was retained by the township last year to begin a review of the current township hall and campus, along with a review of fire station number three.
Daniel Redstone led the presentation to the township board at the meeting, highlighting portions of the formal report of his firm’s assessment of possible ways to meet space needs of both the township hall and the police department.
Redstone noted that the current township hall, first constructed in 1938, has had multiple additions over the years and currently provides about 32,000 square feet of space for both township offices and the police department. The firm’s analysis concluded that there was a need for 35,000 square of space for the township offices alone, and another 58,800 square feet of space for the police department which is experiencing space shortages now.
Redstone told the board the township “needs a new building” rather than trying to reconfigure and add on to the current structure. At one point in the presentation Redstone estimated that new construction would cost at an estimate $500 per square foot.
The report generated by the firm also noted that the review included possible options for location of a new building on the current municipal campus which now includes the township hall which houses the police department; a senior center; fire staton number one; an animal shelter; a building for the public works department; a salt dome; a cable TV office on an adjacent site; and the 48th district court. The firm also looked at vacant property at the current campus site along the Telegraph Road portion of the campus, as well as raising the question of moving the salt dome to another location. The firm also recommended that if a new building was the preferred option that the township offices and the police department should be housed in separate buildings for safety and security reasons.
Redstone’s presentation and his firm’s report also addressed space needs for township fire hall number three, located at Maple Road and Woodbank Street. The fire station is now experiencing space needs issues, including the inability to house necessary fire trucks.
The current fire station building has 6,500 square feet of space and the architectural firm estimated that the ideal size would be a 14,400 square foot, three-bay station.
The firm’s report recommended a two-story building with 12,500 square feet of space, plus a mezzanine of 750 square feet. The report noted that township fire officials had reviewed and agreed with the proposal.
If the construction were to happen this year, the firm estimated that the cost would be $9.5 million which would rise to $10 million in cost if the project were done next year. The projected costs did not include temporary facilities nor the cost of demolition of the current building.
No formal action was taken by the township board. Township supervisor Mike McCready suggested that a public work session of the township board be scheduled to discuss the possible building projects and “how to pay for this.” McCready noted that the township has met with Congresswoman Haley Stevens and with state lawmakers to determine if any federal or state funding could possibly be available for the projects.