FREEHOLD – Members of the Borough Council in Freehold Borough have authorized a $3.33 million contract to purchase a building on Mechanic Street that will become the new Borough Hall, police department headquarters and municipal court.
On June 15, council members authorized the purchase of the building at 30 Mechanic St. from Hager Brothers Urban Renewal Co., LLC. The building is currently being used by the Monmouth County Probation Department.
The rear of the building faces Mechanic Street and does not provide public access. Public access to the building is provided from a parking lot off Mechanic Street.
Officials have said they plan to use the building as Borough Hall, as the headquarters of the Freehold Borough Police Department and as the municipal court.
At present, Borough Hall is on West Main Street and the police department and municipal court are in the Rug Mill Towers on Jackson Street.
The council’s action on June 15 followed the governing body’s recent adoption of an ordinance that authorized the purchase of the Mechanic Street building. The ordinance established that the building would be purchased for $3.33 million.
Discussions regarding moving Borough Hall from West Main Street date back to 2017 when the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) presented a draft concept for a transit village around the Freehold bus station at the corner of West Main and Throckmorton streets, near Borough Hall.
In 2018, a partnership of business owners and property owners in the borough, known as KFM Partnership, LLC, recommended moving the municipal building to a new location.
The individuals involved with KFM Partnership believed moving Borough Hall would open up property around the bus station and provide an opportunity to generate revenue for Freehold Borough by creating additional space for a developer who might bid on the NJTPA’s plans proposed for the bus station.