FROM THE BRIDGETON NEWS (Newhouse Newspapers)
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
By MATT DUNN
Staff Writer
BRIDGETON -- To bring the prosecutor's office to downtown Bridgeton, one obstacle must be cleared.
Where to park.
Even those who champion the placement at the old Val Mode site don't have answer to the parking problem it would create.
Especially if retail space is added.
One proposal includes office space for three additional county offices.
It does not include parking for an additional 60 people employed by the county Office on Aging and Disabled and two other departments, according to Freeholder Bruce Peterson.
That's a problem, he said.
"As much as I would love to put (the prosecutor's office) near the courthouse, it doesn't fit on the site," Peterson remarked on Friday.
Archetto Construction Inc.'s $13 million proposal is to construct a four-story, 113,520-square-foot building on the corner of Broad and Atlantic streets.
Half of that space would be taken up by a 113-space indoor parking garage.
There could be close to 120 individuals employed just by the prosecutor's office alone by 2009, creating a "critical parking issue," Peterson said.
"There's not even enough space for the prosecutor's office," he said, "Plus, whatever parking we need for the public. As soon as the prosecutor's office grows, you're going to be in two buildings again because you can't expand the site."
The county must build a centralized facility for all the prosecutor's employees by March 2008 as a result of a lawsuit between the county and the prosecutor's office over a lack of resources for the department.
Freeholders will decide in September between Archetto's proposal and an $11 million proposal by Vitetta, a Marlton construction firm.
Vitetta has proposed a 40,000-square-foot home for the prosecutor's office near the county administration building on Route 49.
Peterson said he supported Vitetta's plan all along, but others on the freeholder board support Archetto's plan, which would benefit the prosecutor's office because of its proximity to the county courthouse.
"We need to balance what is in the best interest of the prosecutor's office with the desires of the city," Freeholder Lou Magazzu said on Monday. "With the last administration (in Bridgeton), it was very clear they supported putting the prosecutor's office at the former Val Mode site. That happens to be where I believe it should be."
When former Bridgeton Mayor Michael Pirolli championed bringing the prosecutor's office to the former site of the Val Mode lingerie factory on Atlantic and Broad streets, Magazzu rallied behind his cause.
"Do you want to keep an unused parcel in the middle of downtown Bridgeton?" Magazzu asked.
"Do you want to remove people from downtown Bridgeton who are helping the economy?"
Pirolli was defeated in April's general election.
Mayor Jim Begley, who stated he would rather see a ratable at the Val Mode site, is concerned with how much money the city would make on the project.
If the county purchases the building up front, which Peterson said is likely, it will not be obligated to pay taxes on the property.
"The county has to come to us with a figure as to how much they're going to give to us as a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes)," Begley said on Monday.
Such arrangements are common.
Bridgeton receives about $1 million annually from the South Woods State Prison, located within city limits, according to Peterson.
"I'd consider ($300,000) to be a fair figure," Begley said, about how much the city would receive annually if Archetto retained ownership of the property and leased it to the county.
Begley has another idea, to use part of the first floor parking garage as taxable retail space.
"Along the riverfront, there could be a small deli or a cafe ... maybe a Starbucks (cafe)," he said. "There would be a guaranteed 200 people coming downstairs every day."
The downside to this is that several parking spaces would be lost.
"It sure would (take up parking)," Begley said, "(But) I've spoken with the prosecutor and he's in agreement with the retail space."
There would be a parking problem if everyone brought a car to work, said Archetto Chairman Sid Brody.
"I don't think there's a parking problem," he said. "We're talking with city council to get additional street parking and several lots are also being considered."
Freeholder Jim Rocco said on Monday he initially considered the Val Mode site as ideal for the prosecutor's office.
"It does concern me about parking," he said. "The prosecutor's staff will, no doubt, increase. We don't want to see something that's going to be a problem in a year or two."
Rocco said one idea being considered is to build a new facility on Route 49, keeping the prosecutor's current Fayette Street office as a "beachhead."
"Some of it could be used for public parking," he said. "But some of the prosecutor's themselves could have office space there that they could use before they go to court."
The best place is out by the administration building, according to Peterson.
"The rest is just politics," he remarked.