RENOVATIONS ARE NEARLY DONE

Borough offices will move back home on Dec. 6

WEST CHESTER >> There is no place like home.

Following $4.4 million in Borough Hall renovations, borough staffers and police are returning from a year working from the former home of the West Chester Area School District, the Spellman Center, in West Goshen Township.

Borough Manager Mike Per-

rone said the borough will move back home to Borough Hall on Dec. 6, three weeks behind schedule and three weeks prior to a Jan. 1 deadline to vacate the Spellman Center.

“We’ve got all the space in the world,” Perrone said. “By consolidating, we’re better utilizing the space.”

Gone from the 1991 building is “a lot of ornamental space” said Perrone. Two thousand square feet was added to the upstairs offices, which includes borough council chambers, and 3,500 square feet to the police department downstairs.

Space was increased for police with a move upstairs of the parking department.

Parking spaces were traded for more police space, including the addition of two more holding cells, for a total of six.

What was once a gaping stairway has been covered and better utilized by general contractor Baver Construction. More conference rooms were added. The project’s architect was Hamel Associates.

The cost came in at far less than the original estimate, not including furniture, which was pegged at $4.9 million. The final cost was $4.4 million for everything. The state pitched in with a $500,000 grant to help defray the overall cost.

Perrone said the HVAC system has not worked correctly dating to building construction during 1990. Recent duct work was performed to make the building more energy efficient.

LED lighting will save electricity and the building is now 100 percent handicapped-accessible. The structure was built prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Two vehicle electric charger stations, with room for more, were also installed.

The police station will be more secure and an emergency management center was included in the plans.

Perrone said the project is nearly complete during a “tough” construction market, with fewer skilled laborers available than when the building was built.

BILL RETTEW - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA The fences will soon come down as renovations of West Chester Borough Hall are wrapping up

BILL RETTEW - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA West Chester Borough Manager Mike Perrone oversees construction of Council Chambers in Borough Hall.

BILL RETTEW - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA The West Chester Police Department will move back into Borough Hall on Dec. 6 and make use of the latest technology.

BILL RETTEW - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA New police lockers at the now under renovation Borough Hall. Police expect to move back in on Dec. 6.