TOMS RIVER – A recent ground breaking ceremony cleared the way for a new social services complex on Hooper Avenue.
Director of Ocean County Board of Commissioners Gary Quinn, Commissioner Virginia “Ginny” Haines, Social Services Director Meredith Sheehan and Board of Social Services Vice Chairman Pastor Peter Hartney Jr., and Toms River Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill were among those who gathered with shovels in hand to launch the construction of a building that will serve as home to dozens of programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), General Assistance, Child Support, Adult Protective Services, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Homeless Services, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid and Statewide Respite.
At the present time the Ocean County Board of Social Services works out of six buildings in an office complex located at 1027 Hooper Avenue. The county leases these offices, and the lease was expiring in 2022.
Quinn commended the Board of Social Services and the agency programs saying, it served to provide people with assistance, “to keep food on the table, a roof over their head, protecting the elderly and a host of other services. Once completed the new building houses all those programs that provide opportunities for many of our residents.” It will also have some of the government offices of building number 2 which is a short distance away. “That includes veterans services, senior services and consumer affairs.”
Haines is a member of the Board of Social Services. She remarked, “it is finally here, I’ve been a commissioner for six years and this is one of the things I’ve been talking about since day one when I came on the board that we have to have a new building. I even drove around the county on Route 9 and Hooper Avenue looking for property because it had to be one of those two locations because there was bus service that was needed for many of the clients that go to Board of Social Services.”
She noted the Grunin family decided they wished to sell the land “and we were able to negotiate a good price for the property and now it is really happening. No one could be more excited about this building but myself. It will be a state-of-the-art building that all of you will be extremely happy to work in and come to.”
Sheehan, the social services director, said, “I want to thank on behalf of all my staff everyone who had a part in this n putting the time and effort into our needs and the needs of those in Ocean County.”
Hartney, the vice chair, said all he was left to talk about was “to say thank you and to focus on the people who will be coming here. When they come here it is because they have found themselves in need of some security in their lives and now coming here our 400 plus staff will be here to greet them and help to find a more secure place in life.”
Quinn added that throughout the whole process, “Mayor Hill and Toms River worked with us to get through some of the hurtles we had to get through. I want to acknowledge Commissioner Joe Vicari who could not be here today. Joe plays as much an important role in this process because he has departments that will be housed in this building as well.”
The County purchased 10 acres of land for the project which involves demolishing four old buildings to make way for the new building.
On hand were representatives of Epic Management Inc. of Piscataway who were awarded the contract, being the lowest bidder, and bids ranged as high as $53 million.
The base bid was $37,196,000, which included an irrigation system for $175,000, IT/data system for $450,000 and traffic control for $10,000.
Several added projects increased the total bid to $39,537,000: Site Entrance Sign – $69,000, Bi-Polar Ionization System – $139,000, A/V & Security Systems – $649,000, Generator – $989,000, and Equipment Screening – $495,000. The total award was approximately $7 million lower than the original construction cost estimate of $47 million.
It was expected that the project would run up to $56 million provided professional fees and other soft costs were included. Mott MacDonald designed the building and the site work will be coordinated by French & Parrello Associates. The project will be overseen by T&M Associates.
The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders adopted a bond ordinance on June 17, 2020 appropriating $56,800,000 for the new building of which $53,700,000 will be borrowed.
Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Gary Quinn noted that the county was “combining the programs located in several old buildings into a state-of-the-art complex that, once completed, will provide substantial savings in maintenance costs. Bringing all of these services under one roof will also increase efficiencies for the public we serve.”
Quinn noted the new facility would be 121,000 square feet and three stories high. It is located at the current site of the county’s Social Services Complex on Hooper Avenue.
The County will see a savings of at least $3 million yearly through eliminating the need to make lease payments on the buildings according to Quinn. “The new building will be energy efficient and the maintenance costs will be far lower.”
“Part of the savings includes the reimbursement from the state and federal governments for housing the Board of Social Services along with the consolidation of the services into one building. The age and current conditions of the buildings that house the Ocean Board of Social Services programs have resulted in the need to replace the facilities,” Quinn added.
He also noted that maintenance costs were continuing to rise and in the long run, “this new building will be far more beneficial for our citizens and our staff.”
The Ocean County Board of Social Services will use half of the new facility while Ocean County government departments will use 18 percent. The rest of the square footage will be for shared services including conference rooms and other common spaces. Around 400 social services board workers will staff the new building. The facility will have 715 parking spots.
“The staff of the Ocean County Board of Social Services assists hundreds of County residents every day. The programs they administer affect all parts of our populations from young families to the elderly,” Quinn said.
“This new building will help accommodate those high numbers of people accessing these services and also provide improved working conditions for the social services staff and our other departments.”
Quinn said construction should be completed at some point next year.
