The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
July 25,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hackensack NJ, at $147 million, the new Bergen County Justice Center is the most expensive capital project in Bergen County history , some would say the largest County boondoggle in history . Sure the idiotic unwanted meadowlands mall project ” Xanadu ” dwarfs it but even in Bergen County at $147 million we are talking real money . Surprise ,surprise the county now says it needs even more money, that is right county officials acknowledge, they could need $20 million more to get it all done.
Yes again that is right for a mere $147 million or should I say $167 million county residents get a new public works garage in Paramus and a new justice center in Hackensack.
While country officials ramble off a myriad of the usual excuses the fact is the DPW building in Paramus was originally planned to cost $16 million but the final price tag was $20.4 million about a 22% miss on the estimate.
No one denies the county court house is dilapidated and falling apart and yes County Officials openly acknowledge that to complete the project at least $20 million more will be needed.
But this brings us once again back to the same old issues and why New Jersey and particularly Bergen County has become the nations most fled jurisdiction.
Back in 2013 the Bergen County freeholders received a detailed briefing on the construction of the new Justice Center complex in Hackensack, County officials expected to break ground in August on the nearly $115 million project. Hummm $115 million ah $147 million oh no $167 million dollar project that nearing a 50% increase over the original estimate ?
Like many things in this state ,its time for a audit of all county ,state and local projects including the Transportation Slush Fund , we mean the Transportation Trust Fund . Some how I cant seem to believe a private developer would except a 50% cost overrun . Both County Republicans and Democrats point fingers at each other while the tax payer as usual gets stuck with the bill.
JUNE 3, 2015, 7:50 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 9:25 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The Bergen County Justice Center project under construction in Hackensack will cost an additional $1.3 million to build and take about 14 months more to finish, county officials revealed Wednesday.
The freeholders approved a change order Wednesday that calls for paying $1,329,797 more to Gilbane Building Co., the New Brunswick-based construction manager overseeing the project.
The vote to approve was 4-0 with three freeholders absent.
The added payment will keep the firm on site for an additional 14 months beyond its original contract, which was to have expired on July 1, said Ray Dressler, the county’s public works director.
At $147 million, the multifaceted project was already the largest in the county’s history, even before Wednesday’s vote.
Besides a new six-story Justice Center on Court Street, the project includes a new Public Works garage in Hackensack, a Public Works facility in Paramus, a parking deck and renovation of the 102-year-old courthouse.
APRIL 20, 2015, 4:46 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2015, 4:47 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The new Bergen County Justice Center – the biggest public works project in the county’s history – will cost more than the original $147 million price tag, County Executive James Tedesco said.
The new Department of Public Works facility in Paramus, part of the overall project, will wind up costing more than anticipated when the bonds to pay for it were approved by the freeholders in a unanimous vote in April 2014, he said.
Tedesco said he does not yet know how much more money will be needed. The county will have to borrow more or cut back on renovation of the historic 103-year-old court house in Hackensack, the final phase of the project.
The first two phases include a new six-story Justice Center on Court Street that will house the County Prosecutor’s office, the Sheriff’s Office and the Probation Department; and a five-story parking deck and new DPW garage on River Street in Hackensack.
The garage on River Street is largely completed. The last slab of pre-cast concrete for the parking deck on Court Street was installed last week, and the new Justice Center building is under construction and should be completed by November 2016.
The DPW complex in Paramus – which features bays where 30,000-pound vehicles can be lifted – originally was set to be completed this spring. That opening has been pushed to later this summer, Tedesco said.