Much of the moving and relocation work at the new building has been done by the Mount Laurel Public Works Department. This truck was packed with municipal files that were being moved in.
Homeowners enjoy sharing dramatic moving stories, but few could compare to the scope of moving the Mount Laurel Township municipal offices about three miles across town.
Thousands of municipal files, box by box, have been moved by the Township Public Works Department to the new municipal office building at 750 Centerton Road in the 47-acre Laurel Creek Corporate Center from the old 100 Mount Laurel Road headquarters.
The Township earlier this year paid $5,480,000 for the three-story building that formerly housed a unit of the Lockheed Martin Corp. Township Council in March authorized bond borrowing for the project.
The handsome office building, formerly housing a unit of Lockheed Martin, has an expansive lobby. A room just inside the entrance will have computers and printers that can be used by residents. Straight ahead in this photo is the large room that is being transformed into the courtroom and public meeting space. The municipal court is not expected to move until February or March.
This week, the Municipal Clerk's office relocated to the building with other departments. The full move is expected to end next February or March with the Municipal Court moving into a first-floor courtroom that must be retrofitted with bullet-proof glass and other safeguards required by the state court system. Municipal meetings will be held in the courtroom when it opens.
Other departments that have moved include the tax assessor, construction, planning, zoning, housing, finance, economic development, public works, recreation and Township Council offices, according to the municipal webside update. The tax collector is scheduled to move on November 20.
Jerry Mascia, the Township Public Works superintendent and deputy Township manager who has coordinated the move, last week showed off the new building to 70and73.com.
In the lobby, Mascia proudly pointed out a room that will be fitted with computers and printers for residents to use. Visitors to municipal offices often need to fill out forms, and now they will not need to do it at home on their own computers. But the room also can be used by residents who simply are in need of a computer.
The 750 Centerton Road building in the office park that is near Centerton and Creek roads in Mount Laurel. The building is about three miles from the current municipal offices at 100 Mount Laurel Road.
Mascia said he was pleased when the old owners turned over the plans to the building: They were highly detailed and showed the location of everything.
But one unpleasant discovery was that the modern office building had no internet access because, as a defense contractor, Lockheed Martin maintained highly secure offices. But online access, essential to municipal offices, has been installed.
The Mount Laurel municipal offices will occupy the full three floors of the Centerton Road building. Some of the office views are stunning.
Most of the Township offices — housing about 55 employees — are moving from the current offices at 100 Mount Laurel Road. The old offices reportedly have been crowded, files have been stacked and rest room space was at a premium.
Left behind in larger quarters in the old municipal building will be the Police Department, which itself was cramped and now can expand. The Mount Laurel Community Center, the site of community meetings, will remain on the 100 Mount Laurel Road campus.
Township Manager Meredith Riculfy told 70and73.com this week that the municipal Office of Emergency Management headquarters also is moving into the new building. In emergencies, the OEM pulls together municipal departments, the school district and other agencies to coordinate responses.
Files in boxes in one office await filing.
Previous 70and73.com coverage
- Mount Laurel plans to buy Centerton Road office building for $5.48M for Township headquarters.
- With little comment, Mount Laurel Council votes to spend $5.48M to move town hall to office building.
