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P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI |
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CONTACT: Frank Belluscio
TRENTON, December 18, 2009 — Last year, an attorney for the New Jersey School Boards Association arrived at work to find his desk saturated by water from corroded pipes in the ceiling. During a hot summer weekend, the Association’s computer system “melted down” when an unreliable air conditioning system stopped working. In moderate rainstorms, workers on the building’s third floor would find puddles in their offices because of recurring roof leaks. Severe storms would produce pools of water at the base of the elevator shaft. Leaks, old plumbing, inefficient heating and cooling, and high maintenance and utility bills. Those are the challenges that come with a 46-year-old building and which its owners tried to address through increasingly frequent repairs. “These incidents were becoming the norm, and the costs mounted,” said Marie S. Bilik, executive director of NJSBA, a service organization for local school boards. “In this type of situation, an organization has two options: purchase a new office, or completely renovate the existing one.” In May 2009, the NJSBA Board of Directors, consisting of representatives selected by the state’s local school boards, voted to renovate the Association’s headquarters at 413 West State Street in Trenton. Not only will the year-long project create a viable, energy- and cost-efficient structure, it also represents the Association’s belief in the city, according to organization officials. “Over the past five years, committees of local school board members explored various options: leasing space, purchasing a structure or building new,” explained Bilik. “Since we have full ownership of 413 West State Street, taking on a long-term lease at another location is not prudent; renovating the building is the best financial option. “While the decision is based on finances, it also reflects a strong desire to maintain a presence in the state capital,” she emphasized. The Association’s decision has earned praise from Trenton’s mayor. “I commend…your decision to retain your iconic building, enhance it and maintain your presence in the capital city,” wrote Mayor Douglas H. Palmer in a recent letter to the Association. NJSBA’s decision will result in a completely renovated, solar-powered structure with “silver level” certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The “planned upgrades related to energy efficiency and solar panels certainly strike a meaningful chord, given the national imperative to cut energy use—and my Trenton Green initiative to bring that effort home,” Palmer noted. NJSBA’s effort to include green energy as part of the renovation project also reflects a trend among its member school districts. Since 2008, almost one-third of the 116 school construction proposals placed on the ballot statewide have had solar energy components. Voters approved 81 percent of these plans, which stressed energy savings. Working with the city’s Landmarks Commission for Historic Preservation, the project’s architect, The Vaughn Collaborative of Trenton, has retained the integrity of the building’s exterior design. “The NJSBA building at 413 West State Street, first occupied by IBM, is a 1960s-era structure in the Fisher/Richey/Perdicaris Historic District and is Trenton’s only ‘modern’ structure with landmarks designation,” Palmer explained. The Association moved into the building at the beginning of 1985 from another site on West State Street. In addition to NJSBA’s desire to remain in the state capital, political and economic factors entered into its decision to renovate the structure. Recent laws require NJSBA to deliver a larger share of school board member training through regional programs and the Internet, rather than statewide conferences. State regulations also restrict board member travel for training purposes. These changes made previous plans to build a new office building and conference center near the N.J. Turnpike impractical, according to Bilik. By the fall of 2008, with the severe economic downturn, a committee of local school board members began looking at the renovation of the Association’s building at 413 West State Street as an alternative to constructing a new headquarters in the suburbs. “As the Association considered where to locate its future operations, we determined that we wanted to stay in the city that’s been our home for 95 years,” said Bilik. The organization’s Board of Directors approved the allocation of $7 million for the renovation project earlier this year. The appropriation is three times less costly than constructing a new building in the suburbs; the funds will come entirely from a capital reserve account created for the previously planned conference center. Paying for the project will not require any borrowing and will have no financial impact on Association members, Bilik stressed. The West State Street project will include new plumbing and HVAC systems, a new roof with solar energy panels, and reconfigured office space. The renovated headquarters building will also incorporate a technology-communications center to expand online training and information services to board of education members, as required by state law. While the current economy was a factor in the decision to renovate 413 West State Street, it is also working in NJSBA’s favor as the project moves forward. Bids for roofing, demolition, environmental abatement and mechanical design have come in at 39 percent below budgeted amounts. Ironically, NJSBA’s long-term commitment to the City of Trenton has required it to move out of town temporarily. “The building renovation involves the shutdown of operating systems and the removal of walls, partitions and ceilings,” explained Bilik. For now, the Association is operating from 850 Bear Tavern Road in Ewing. However, NJSBA is on schedule to move back home to its fully renovated headquarters building at 413 West State Street, Trenton, by August 2010. ********
The New Jersey School Boards Association, a federation of district boards of education, advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education. ###
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