Why is a California corporation demanding millions more for Mount Laurel's new town hall?
MOUNT LAUREL TWP. — Angry local officials say a California corporation wants an extra $2 million from the township to sell a property envisioned as a replacement municipal headquarters, calling the demand an “attempt to fleece the taxpayers.”
A complaint the township filed in on March 31 in Burlington County Superior Court instead proposes seizing the vacant, three-story building under a court order. The property is in the Laurel Creek Corporate Center at 750 Centerton Road, near Route 38 and Mount Laurel Road.
The complaint says the owner, Top Terraces Inc. of Santa Monica, should get $5.48 million. That sum was the price allegedly agreed to in a written communication to the township on February 14. In March, a $6 million bond ordinance was adopted to finance the project, the lawsuit claims.
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Judge Jeanne Covert has scheduled a hearing for April 25 to hear oral arguments.
Mount Laurel officials could not be reached immediately for comment. The decision to go to court appears to have been reached in a closed-door meeting at the March 6 council meeting.
Top Terraces President Daniel K. Lahave also could not be reached immediately for comment.
Mount Laurel is not stopping at the demand for condemnation authorization. It does not specify the amounts, but the township wants Top Terraces to pay it a variety of damages and reimbursements for legal expenses.
Mount Laurel was in a celebratory mood in mid-February when it announced a sales agreement. The goal is to turn over the existing municipal building at 100 Mount Laurel Road entirely to the Mount Laurel Police Department, putting all other services in the new site.
“Recent growth in the police pepartment has created a need for more space and officers for our officers,” police Chief Judy Lynn Schiavone said at the time. “By purchasing this new building, Township Council has shown their commitment to making sure public safety is a priority for Mount Laurel residents.”
The township said the acquisition was a smart financial move. Constructing a building would cost “significantly” more than $5.48 million, according to findings of the township engineer and the tax assessor.
“The purchase the Township has made is significantly lower in cost than any other commercial transaction in the past two years,” tax assessor Dennis DeKlerk said. “The price by square foot is by far the lowest in that span, making this purchase a great deal for the township.”
By township estimates, the $5.48 million purchase works out to a cost of $68.76 per square foot. The Top Terraces building has 79,692 square feet of space.
The additional $2 million, though, represents nearly a 37 percent cost increase.
Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.
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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Mount Laurel NJ: New municipal building costs head to court
