New municipal complex nearing completion

Bordentown Township, municipal complex, Municipal Drive, township government, Farnsworth Avenue

After years of planning and more than a year of construction, a new municipal complex in Bordentown Township opened for services in 2026.

The new municipal complex consists of a two-story, 35,000-square-foot structure housing administrative offices, the township clerk, Finance Department, tax assessor and collector, Community Development Department, Police Department and a new municipal courtroom. The property also includes an upgraded and modernized senior center.

An official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the township’s new municipal building will take place Oct. 6 at 11 a.m., marking the beginning of a new chapter, according to the township.

A rain date has been scheduled for Oct. 7.

The new building is located at 1 Municipal Drive, the site of the former municipal building, which has since been demolished.

Demolition of the old building began this summer and was completed before mid-August.

“I think the new municipal complex is pretty amazing! The new building is a big improvement over the old one from the standpoint of functionality and accessibility,” Township Committeeperson Bill Grayson said.

“I also really like the interior architectural flourishes such as the stylish lighting. The building was smartly designed with some room to grow. The folks working in it day to day are giving the building a thumbs up.”

In late September, finishing site work remained at the building’s front entrance from Municipal Drive, where additional parking spaces are being added. Site work also was underway to complete an entrance and exit from Farnsworth Avenue near the Police Department parking lot entrance.

Curbing and sidewalks had been installed as site work continued into late September on paving the parking lots and semicircular driveway.

“The township administration, in collaboration with the township committee, managed debt service well. Because of smart fiscal management, the building was able to be delivered without raising taxes,” Grayson added.

He highlighted how the new building was built using union labor and the township committee passed an ordinance in 2022 authorizing a Project Labor Agreement for the construction.

“The construction is in the final phase now, with the front parking lot and additional safety features going in. All in all, I am very pleased and proud,” he said. “I am looking forward to the ribbon cutting ceremony on Oct. 6.”

The Police Department, Municipal Court, township clerk, Finance Department, tax assessor and tax collector are located on the first floor of the building.

The second floor contains administrative offices, additional Police Department space and construction and community development offices.

The township does not want the new municipal complex to serve only as a center for township services, but also as a gathering place and open-space destination for Bordentown residents.

The need for a new municipal complex had been discussed for years. Officials have said the services provided by Bordentown Township had outgrown the old building, which sat on a little more than a 4-acre lot.

The former municipal building at 1 Municipal Drive went through several expansions over the years before being demolished to make way for the new complex.

Bordentown Township evaluated the potential for another expansion but ultimately determined it would not be cost-effective.

The original municipal building was constructed in 1961, the same year the Township Committee increased from three to five members. An expansion was made to the original building 12 years later, in 1973, followed by another expansion 15 years later, in 1988.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township’s population had grown to 12,821 residents by 2025. The township had 5,936 residents in 1960, with the population surpassing 7,000 in the 1970s and continuing to grow in subsequent decades.

In 2020, a plan to potentially build the municipal complex on 8.1 acres along Crosswicks Road faced pushback from residents. Township officials eventually abandoned plans for a complex at the site, which included preserved open space.

In 2021, the Bordentown Township Committee authorized creation of an ad hoc subcommittee to evaluate potential locations for the municipal complex.

Following those evaluations, the subcommittee recommended that the best location would be the site of the existing municipal building and adjoining properties, including 3 Municipal Drive, a vacant residential property at 803 Farnsworth Ave. and a vacant restaurant at 765 Farnsworth Ave.

The Township Committee gave the green light and selected the existing 1 Municipal Drive property as the site of the new complex.

Officials approved more than $20 million in total appropriations for the project. The township also hired Epic Management Inc. to provide construction management services.

Three years later, in 2024, the Township Committee awarded a construction contract for the new complex to Ernest Bock & Sons Inc. of Philadelphia for $19.7 million.

Other previously awarded contracts included architectural design services by DesignBlendz LLC and site survey and site inspection work by Turek Consulting.

Earlier this year, in the spring, administrative offices reopened in the new municipal complex. The Township Committee held its first meeting in the new building in May.

A side entrance has been temporarily used while front entrance site work off Municipal Drive, where the old municipal building once stood, is completed.

Striped parking spaces and handicapped-accessible parking spaces have been completed off Municipal Drive, providing access to the building entrance past the upgraded senior center.