Years in making, Hazlet town hall nears finish Mayor hopes to hold ribbon-cutting ceremony before the new year BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer PHOTOSBYSCOTT PILLING staff Top: A view from the outside of the municipal building under construction in Hazlet. HAZLET - Although it has taken a little longer than expected, Hazlet's new town hall is only weeks away from completion. What was a pile of dirt 15 months ago has been transformed into a 20,000-square-foot, two-story structure in a corner of Veterans Park, off Union Avenue. Although skeptics said the building was too large and would cost too much money, it's hard to deny that it's an impressive piece of work. "I heard about the disapproval from the start. But this project was six years in the making," Andrew Trocchia, of Sonnenfeld and Trocchia Architects, Holmdel, said. "We met with people in the township, including the mayor [Michael Sachs] and staff members as well to see what they wanted in the new building, and this is what we came up with." What Trocchia came up with was a better solution to the current problem. Presently, a majority of the township's offices and departments are crammed into the Cullen Center, which is near the entrance to the park. This became a necessity when the old town hall, a 45-year-old single-level building located at 319 Middle Road, became uninhabitable in March 2004 because of heavy rains that caused the ceiling of the township's personnel office to collapse on March 31 of that year. Left: A look at the construction going on inside the new Hazlet Township municipal building. Construction is expected to be finished by year's end. At first, township officials wanted to see the new dwelling built on the same site, but after many months of researching different sites, it was decided that Veterans Park would be the new home. Trocchia said that his firm wanted certain features of the new building to mirror the Cullen Center. "Things like having a sloped roof and creating it out of stone, these were things that we wanted to do this time around as well," Trocchia explained. According to Trocchia, the current price tag for the project is just over $4.8 million. He said that thanks to some cost-cutting measures, the price has stayed as low as possible. Below: Andrew Trocchia Jr., architect of the new Hazlet municipal building, gives the building a look, after 15 months of construction. Trocchia estimated that construction is "about 85 to 90 percent done" and should be completed by the end of the calendar year. Furniture for the building should arrive by the middle of next month. "It seems like the people of Hazlet are satisfied and that those who will be working here definitely want to move in," Trocchia said. Although construction is not slated to be completed for a few more weeks, mayor Michael Sachs is hoping to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the beginning of next month. "This is something that has been needed for a long time, even before the old town hall had its problems," Sachs said. "It's been well worth the wait and it really came out looking great." Not everyone agrees. As a Democrat running for committee in 2005, Kevin Lavan made his dissatisfaction with the project a central pillar of his platform. Lavan said at the time that the facility would cost too much money to build, and he also wasn't in favor of its proposed location in Veterans Park. On Monday, Lavan, now a committeeman, said that while he has not toured the inside, he has seen the outside and is still not happy about the project. "I'm not satisfied at all and either are the people of Hazlet. They weren't happy when this thing started and they're still not happy," Lavan said. Sachs acknowledged that the new building has had its detractors from day one. Sachs says the skeptics should take a good look at the nearly finished product. "We wanted to have things done right and they were," Sachs said. "Even if it took a bit longer than expected, it was worth it." Trocchia said that the new town hall should be looked at as more than just a building that houses staff members and old records. "This is also helpful from a marketing standpoint as well," Trocchia explained. "When people come to town looking to do business with the township, they can take note of how much went into getting things prepared and how much work and research went into the construction of this building. They'll know that Hazlet Township is serious. It's nice when things come out looking good in the end."