The former bank site at the southwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Ocean Boulevard in Plaza del Mar is the prime contender for a new facility that would replace the current Manalapan Town Hall and possibly house the Police Department and fire station. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By John Pacenti
Manalapan elected officials got their first taste of some examples of what a new Town Hall might look like. A few took a spit take.
After an Aug. 12 Zoom presentation, the answer for some commissioners was none of the above.
Town Manager Eric Marmer said elected officials — as well as himself — had concerns about separating the police and fire departments from the proposed Town Hall, as one proposal suggested.
That means there is only one viable solution to keep all services in one building: putting them at the southwest corner of Ocean Avenue and Ocean Boulevard, an outparcel at the Plaza del Mar shopping center.
Town residents know the site well, as the one-time bank-building-turned-office-suite became the subject of foreclosure this year.
After the presentation by Currie, Sowards Aguila Architects, there were a lot of moving pieces. One decision Marmer made was to postpone plans to ask town residents in March for approval to spend money on a new Town Hall.
That will have to wait until 2027, most likely.
“I don’t think it’s prudent to spend the time, the money and put the effort into this without first securing the site that this all is contingent on,” Marmer said. “So I need to play the process out before I can move forward with really anything.”
The architects proposed three possible locations: the Plaza del Mar outparcel; the current Town Hall site on South Ocean Boulevard, which also houses police and fire rescue services; and the town library site on Point Manalapan— though the last was dismissed by the architects as less than desirable.
One proposed plan was to build a one- or two-story Town Hall on the bank site and build a new fire and police station on the current Town Hall site.
“We tried to fit all three programs on that (bank) site, but it was going to create like a four-story building that was not going to function very well,” said CSA architect Jess Sowards.
Commissioners expressed concerns about whether the structure for police and fire would have an impact on neighboring properties, particularly La Coquille Villas.
When it came to the old bank building site, Sowards said, “So this would set up like a public plaza on the corner of Ocean Avenue and really set up a gateway.”
If the old bank building site is to work with police and fire in tow, the town must secure more land — in addition to the building itself. But building across the street means that the current Town Hall can remain operational, saving Manalapan the headache and money of finding temporary space.
“Now we’re looking at the possibility of moving everything over there, and then we’d explore the option of selling the Town Hall, the current property, to help fund the new Town Hall,” Marmer said.
The town has also received a $1 million commitment from a resident toward the new building, he said.
The former bank building has been converted to office space and is owned by Babylon, New York-based Salute Realty, which purchased the building at 131 S. Ocean Blvd. for $1.2 million in 2019.
It was also subject to a foreclosure action by the town in February for $163,000 in unpaid code enforcement fines for unapproved renovations.
The current Town Hall is located at 600 S. Ocean Blvd., but is considered insufficient for Manalapan’s needs with about 5,300 square feet of office space — including the commission chambers.
The 1981-built building has perpetual drainage and air-conditioning problems as well, Marmer said.
It is hardly reflective of the town, with its dentist-office vibe. There isn’t even enough space for a fourth man on fire department shifts as is now required by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue — even though Manalapan is paying the county for that firefighter.
After speaking to departments and officials with the town, the architects said a new Town Hall of about 10,000 square feet would be needed.
Marmer said the owners of Plaza del Mar — an LLC tied to the Wilf family, which owns the Minnesota Vikings — indicated they would be open to discussing selling part of the plaza’s lots adjacent to the old bank building.
CSA Architects, during the presentation, said a Town Hall at Ocean and Ocean would make a statement at the town’s gateway. It presented modern designs of what a new Town Hall could look like.
“I think contemporary is the way to go,” said Commissioner David Noble. “I don’t see doing it in a Key West style, or a British West Indies.”
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