Completion of a much-needed renovation of the 60,000-square-foot Falls Township municipal building is expected to reach completion by 2024.

On Wednesday, the Falls Supervisors took the first step in upgrading the building at 188 Lincoln Highway by unanimously approving to hire Grace Construction as the project’s construction manager. Supervisors Brian Galloway and John Palmer were absent from the board’s meeting, which had to be rescheduled because of Presidents Day.

Supervisors Vice Chairman Jeff Boraski and Supervisor Erin Mullen served on a committee which interviewed several construction management companies, including Grace Construction. Boraski said the board needed guidance from construction experts who can manage all aspects of the project.

“We need a company that can help us and put our feet in front of each other,” Boraski said. “We can’t do that work.”

Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence said the improvements are aimed at making the building “more suitable for an office environment.”

“There’s been a lot of patch work over the years and never a true design of a municipal building,” Dence said.

Officials have long said the township’s municipal building – which had several previous uses during its life – was not designed to accommodate municipal purposes.

The new design and renovation project will transform the space for its intended use, according to Grace Construction Director of Development Steve Eigenrauch.

In addition to the goal of “making it a better building,” Eigenrauch said he will work to ensure efficiencies and energy savings throughout.

Grace Construction anticipates work on the project continuing through November 2023. The four-phase project will begin with a design and pre-construction phase in March. Construction is expected to begin in November and continue through September 2023. From there, a close-out is expected to wrap up by November 2023.

Throughout the roughly 20-month project, Falls will have full-time staffing from Grace Construction consisting of a project manager, estimator, field supervisor and project engineer to oversee and manage all aspects of the building renovation. The total cost of the company’s construction management services is $585,000.

The fiscally responsible Falls Supervisors had considered constructing a new and expanded municipal complex in 2017, but ultimately shelved the project due to the hefty price tag.

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