Demolition Begins to Make Way for New Montgomery Municipal Complex and County Library

Wild Hart Industries of Hillsborough began demolition work this week at the former ConvaTec property at 100 and 200 Headquarters Park Drive, off Orchard Road near Route 206 in Skillman.

Twelve contractors submitted bids to Somerset County officials for the demolition job. The county acted very quickly, awarding the bid to Wild Hart for $1.07 million with the requirement that work begin within 10 days of the awarding of the contract, according to the bid specs on the Somerset County website.

The lowest bid of $962,640 came from Caravella Demolition of East Hanover and the highest bid was for $3.4 million from Nasdi of Woburn, MA, according to the "Bid Tabulation Sheet" for contract # 18005 posted on the county website.

PHOTO: FORMER CONVATEC PROPERTY, 100 HEADQUARTERS PARK DRIVE, SKILLMAN. THIS IS THE SMALLER OF THE TWO BUILDINGS THAT WILL BE TORN DOWN.

It is unknown why the county decided to go with Wild Hart rather than the lowest bidder. The story will be updated once a reponse is had from county and Montgomery officials.

The county deadline for receipt of the bids was May 30. Demolition work will include the following: Building 100 for $160,000; Building 100 foundation for $103,500; Building 200 for $165,000; Building 200 foundation for $116,900; Wastewater Treatment Building for $6,095; Wasterwater Treatment Building foundation for $15,980; Soil erosion and sediment control for $53,000; Temporary six-foot chainlink fence for $25,600; DGA fill, certified clean for $199,185; Clean crushed stone if needed for $20,240; Topsoil, seeding and mulching for $81,000; Field office setup for $60,000; Field office maintenance for $13,500; and an allowance for work not specified for of $50,000.

Orginally, bids were scheduled to be openned on May 23, but the county exended the deadline to May 30 according to the Notice of Addendum.

As reported earlier, the county purchased the ConvaTec site for Montgomery Township to use as the location for a new municipal building. A Somerset County Library System branch is planned to be included on the site, replacing the current Mary Jacobs Library in Rocky Hill that currently serves as the county library branch for Montgomery and Rocky Hill.

Reportedly, the county has a better credit rating than Montgomery, AAA verus AA, and so may borrow money at a cheaper rate for the project.

It is unknown what will happen to the Mary Jacobs Library building, which is owned by a non-profit organization set up to provide a library for the community. Montgomery's new municipal building and county library branch are expected to be completed in about three years.