Hudson County is looking to purchase a Bergen Avenue building that currently serves as the back offices for Provident Bank, a move that would allow the county to shed rented space, cutting costs and allowing the county to shift resources to better suit its needs around the area.
Freeholder Chairman Bill O’Dea said that the county became aware about two months ago that Provident intended to close its offices at 830 Bergen Ave., and that the county immediately contacted them with the intention of possibly buying the building before it went on to the private market.
“These departments are currently in a very old office space, and they would need far less room than they have now.” – Freeholder Bill O’Dea
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If the county gets approvals for bonding and can negotiate the sale for about $7 million of a $10.5 million bond, the county could also share space in the eight floors of a three building complex with the city, which is seeking to relocate some of its operations from 30 Montgomery St., where the city also pays rent.
O’Dea said about $2 million is being allocated to cover the costs of renovations, although the county would expend about $55,000 on engineering reports to determine what work needs to be done.
He said one roof on the lowest of the three buildings clearly needs repair.
The deal would also include 150 spaces of surface parking, making the deal even more attractive.
O’Dea said this would provide a lot of opportunity to realign its offices.
The county would move some of the offices currently located at the Meadowview campus in Secaucus to the new facility.
“These departments are currently in a very old office space, and they would need far less room than they have now,” O’Dea said.
Operations currently located at the Dunkin Avenue offices for the Hudson County prosecutor would move to Meadowview.
“The Meadowview space would suit these departments,” O’Dea said.
This would leave the Dunkin Avenue property for development as the new clubhouse for the county golf course, currently under construction nearby.
Jersey City municipal operations could also relocate some of its offices from 30 Montgomery St. to the Bergen Avenue site, renting space essentially from Hudson County for half the rate it spends today.
The City of Jersey City could save as much as $500,000 a year in rent, and the HCIA would see a similar savings per square foot if it switches offices.
Also envisioned in the plan would be the moving of the Hudson County Improvement Authority offices to Bergen Avenue from the current rented offices on Summit Avenue in Jersey City.
If all goes well, the county expects to close on the deal by May 1.
County seeks bids on 14th Street Viaduct project
Hudson County is seeking bids this month for an expected $55 million reconstruction of the 14th Street Viaduct connecting Hoboken with Union City.
County Engineer Bob Jasek said the county expects to receive the bids shortly and if one proves successful, construction on the two and a half-year long project could start by mid-year.
The federally-funded project was initiated by Hudson County after the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River Bridge in Minneapolis. The project is being administered through the county, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, and the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
“We will be keeping the bridge open to traffic both ways during the whole project,” Jasek said.
Two lanes of the bridge will be reconstructed, leaving the other two lanes to allow traffic to continue.
Currently, the 14th Street Viaduct is about one-quarter of a mile long and rises more than 70 feet, carrying an estimated 20,000 vehicles a day. Because the 100-year-old structure is considered a landmark, New Jersey’s Historic Preservation Office has required that certain steps be taken to have the structure replaced.
Meadowview Hospital bedbug infestation under control?
In response to reports of a massive infestation of bedbugs in Room No. 306 in Meadowview County Hospital in Secaucus, county officials said they have moved aggressively to correct the situation.
An internal report to the county said that from mid to late 2010, Room 306 was overrun with bedbugs. The county responded with treatment on Jan. 1, 2011, and reported as of Jan. 12 that the bedbug problem is under control. County officials said they could find no evidence of bedbugs outside of Room 306, leading to an additional investigation that someone had brought the bugs into the facility from a private home.
To maintain this level of confidence, the county is scheduled to return and install monitors in and around the perimeter of Room 306 this week.
This is not the first time Room 306 has been a problem, county officials said, noting that a prior incident caused bedbugs to spread out from the room throughout the hospital – which did not happen this time. County officials, however, said they cannot rule out future smaller outbreaks.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.