By John Saccenti, Staff Writer
PLAINSBORO — Township officials are hoping to get started on Plainsboro’s next building project — turning the former library building into a recreation center.
The building, on Plainsboro Road, has been vacant since the library moved to its new location in the Plainsboro Village last month, and the township expects the project to cost about $3.9 million.
Recreation services are run out of the municipal building. The new center would have room to accommodate yoga and exercise classes as well as space for programming, arts classes and performance and meeting space.
”There will be an area that would be appropriate for performance, and there would be a moveable stage,” said Business Administrator Robert Sheehan. “The space would be kept flexible, but could accommodate a decent size crowd for lectures and performances.”
Plans call for making minimal modifications to the interior. However, the real challenge will be renovating the exterior. Mr. Sheehan said the building needs a new heating and cooling system, roof and exterior “skin,” which is separating from the structure and is the source of leaks.
”It also calls for improvements to the plaza area between the recreation center and the Township Hall, partly to address long-standing drainage issues and partly to enhance the visibility of the buildings and to make it easier for folks to access the plaza and use it,” Mr. Sheehan said.
The project also will coordinate with a project designed to improve and expand a path system in the area.
Township Committee members could have a better idea next week regarding what needs to be done to renovate the former library building into a recreation center.
Mr. Sheehan said officials could present a financial evaluation report to the committee Wednesday.
Mr. Sheehan said the price tag would be covered over time so its impact doesn’t hit any single year too significantly.
”What the committee asked us to do is to evaluate that cost and see how we would program it into our capital investments and determine what the impact would be, understanding that we would finance it over time,” he said.
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