Addition to
bank OK’d
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — The Planning Board has approved the construction of an addition to the Sovereign Bank, Route 9 north, near Taylors Mills Road.
Board members Herbert Lazar, Anthony Gennaro, Donald Holland Jr., Richard Cohen, Howard Benkov and Chairwoman Michelle Roth voted to approve the project on July 10, following a public hearing held several weeks earlier.
Attorney Michael Malloy of Chatham, representing Sovereign Bank, described the project as a 1,166-square-foot addition.
During the public hearing, Terry Hale, senior construction manager, HVM Management Company, Wyomissing, Pa., said, "We are expanding the branch to make a larger office and customer service area. We will be relocating the back office space."
One office, a conference room, a work area and a back platform area will be relocated, which will triple the size of the existing lobby, Hale said.
"The current lobby and waiting area is about 5 by 9 feet," said Hale. "The bank is pretty small in terms of size and privacy."
According to Hale, there is a privacy act regarding customer service that is mandated by the state which has to be followed.
"The current bank does not meet that mandate," he told the board.
No new employees will be added as a result of the expansion, he said.
Hale told the board this branch is important to the area, noting there has been an increase in bank deposits by one-third over the past 18 months.
During further testimony, Malloy said the land on which the bank is located is leased from Dorothy Conover, a township resident. That lease was just recently extended.
It was noted that the bank can be reached directly from Route 9 and from a driveway off Taylors Mills Road.
Rich Cramer, the township’s planner, asked about the outside appearance of the new portion of the building.
Hale explained that the facade of the entire building will be upgraded and said the old and new parts of the bank will match.
Project engineer Matthew Martin of Brick discussed plans to improve a grass area on the north side of the property, the addition of a transfer closure area on the northeast corner of the property and said there are plans to increase the size of the access lane on the east corner, to 14 feet, making it a one-way lane.
Martin said a temporary trailer will be placed on the property during construction and used for banking services.
Greg Valesi, the township’s engineer, sought additional information about what kind of enclosure would be used for the garbage bin and if there was a landscape plan for the enclosure.
No questions or comments relating to the Sovereign Bank plan were made by any members of the public.
"Basically they are agreeing with everything in our report," Valesi said later. "They have to provide us with details for the enclosures. We [will] make sure they match the facade of the building [and] that it’s going to be compatible, and that it’s going to be adequately screened and buffered."