Preliminary plans and estimated costs for construction of a new Oxford Township hall off Granger Road just north of Seymour Lake Road were approved May 25.
Township officials approved preliminary plans for the Phase 1 of the building, which includes a main and lower level, each 7,000 square feet in size. The plans were prepared by the township’s architect on this project, the Grand Blanc-based CHMP, Inc.
In their motion, officials approved the estimated $1,443,414 project cost for Phase 1, which will sit on the southern portion of the nearly 28-acre parcel the township owns at the northeast corner of Seymour Lake and Granger roads.
The Building and Site Committee, which is overseeing the project, was also given authorization to send the project out for bids once everything is in place such as drafting construction plans and obtaining the necessary permits.
The estimated $1,443,414 project cost could decrease depending on the construction bids received or undergo some trimming by officials.
At the board’s April 27 meeting, officials directed the Building and Site Committee to work with the architect and township engineer to ‘come back with a township hall not to exceed $1.3 million.?
Trustee Doleen Behnke, who sits on the Building and Site Committee, acknowledged cost changes will have to be made to meet that $1.3 million board-imposed limit.
Currently, the township has about $1.372 million set aside to construct a new township hall, plus approximately $200,000 in interest generated by a $500,000 loan that must be repaid from the Water/Sewer Fund to the Building and Site Fund.
Phase 1 plans for the main floor of the new township hall call for office space for the supervisor, treasurer and clerk’s departments along with the building and zoning department offices, a conference room, lounge area, lobby and counter space.
The lower level of Phase 1 calls for 1,081 square feet of storage plus mechanical and electrical areas.
The majority of the lower level would remain unfinished until money became available to someday implement Phase 2 of the plan which calls for building a 3,784-square-foot substation for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department. The estimated cost for that is $464,813.
A Phase 3 is also planned for the main level. It calls for a 2,660-square-foot meeting room for the township board, planning commission, zoning board of appeals, etc. The estimated cost for Phase 3 is $467,696.
Again, Phase 3 would be built at some point in the future as funds became available. Until then, meetings would continue to be held on the second floor of the Oxford Veterans Memorial Civic Center.