Where it Stands: Mechanicsburg closes on new office building, move planned next year
Mechanicsburg Borough officially took ownership of its new municipal building last month, though the move into the new space isn't planned until late next year.
Operations will transition to Frankeberger Place, a commercial space at 219 E. Main St. The borough bought the property for about $2.6 million, using bonds and capital funds.
The building will maintain its current tenants while the borough's administrative staff, codes and zoning office and treasurer will move into the rear of the space, Borough Manager Layne Thompson said.
Meanwhile, the police department will relocate to 201 Strawberry Alley next door, and the public works department will transition to the borough's wastewater treatment facility along Church Road.
With the deal for Frankeberger Place finalized, Thompson said the borough is in the design process for internal renovations. He expects work to begin in the spring and said the move could take place next fall, though the police department could move sooner.
Public works employees could relocate in the spring, though the vehicle garage may take longer to move, Thompson said.
With tenants in both the new borough and police buildings, he said the spaces will continue to generate revenue that will help pay for the property.
"It's all part of a much bigger strategy to modernize the government facilities, but also to put them in a better place that's more financially responsible over the next 30 years," Thompson said.
According to Thompson, pushing borough operations farther toward the edges of Mechanicsburg will allow the borough's current West Allen Street space to generate additional tax revenue.
"This piece of land is valuable from a tax perspective but right now we don't collect any because we're tax exempted," he said. "So we're going to return that back to the commercial use."
Thompson said borough officials use about half of the West Allen Street building, which "required renovations" if they had chosen to stay there. He expect that building will be torn down and the property sold with a series of conditions for its future use.
While the borough will begin the process of selling the space in the coming weeks, Thompson said it'll likely take a year or two to complete.
Aside from offering an appropriate setting for administrative work, he said the new Frankeberger Place building will also provide more parking and a multipurpose council chambers.
"Being on a commercial office park, you'll have this benefit of being able to do two or three things at once," Thompson said. "You can go get your hair cut there and also go to our office."
Thompson doesn't have an estimate for the cost of renovations or the move, however, he does not expect a tax increase for the project. With existing office space at the Church Road facility, he said the public works department move will likely be relatively cost neutral.
Maddie Seiler is a news reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com covering Carlisle and Newville. Love Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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