Etna is seeking proposals from architectural and construction firms for the development of the borough’s new municipal hub.
The borough in March 2025 bought a former office and industrial building at 30 Pine St. for about $2.3 million, which it paid from a $4.2 million bond issue.
The 48,000-square-foot building previously was owned and used by Forms+Surfaces, a designer and manufacturer of architectural and outdoor products.
“The move is critical as our current facility is undersized for our needs and is in the floodplain,” borough Manager Mary Ellen Ramage said.
The borough plans to move its administration and police department from their current location at 437 Butler St. to the new site. Public works, now at 98 Clark St., also would be relocated there. The volunteer fire department will stay at 437 Butler.
The borough is seeking architectural firms to submit proposals to provide architectural and engineering design services for the planning and construction of the municipal hub. Separately, it is asking construction firms to submit proposals for preconstruction cost estimating services.
Proposals for each are due May 25. The borough will award contracts the week of June 15.
According to the borough’s requests for proposals, construction is scheduled to start in August 2027 and be finished in July 2028.
While affording more space for its administrative and police offices, the borough expects to use about 12,000 square feet of interior space in the 48,000-square-foot building. The remaining 36,000 square feet will be designed as shell and/or leasable space.
“The facility is far larger than our needs so we have the opportunity, should we go in that direction, to lease space which will aid in paying back our loan,” Ramage said. “These first RFPs will aid in determining space needs and cost estimates for those needs.”
A design challenge will be repurposing the industrial warehouse buildings into spaces for public works and the police department.
Administration, including council, zoning and tax collector, is expected to grow from about 3,000 square feet to about 4,500 square feet. With administration housed on the first floor, the second floor would be designed as leasable space.
The police department would increase from about 800 square feet to about 2,500 square feet.
A police regionalization study with Reserve suggested housing the combined police department at Etna’s new facility. While those talks have not ended, Etna currently is planning on housing only its own police department but wants to have about 2,000 square feet available for future expansion.
Public works has a 4,200-square-foot garage, an 800-square-foot salt shed and another garage at 98 Clark St. While the facility and site meets the department’s needs, more space would be helpful, the proposal request states.
For public works, interior space is expected to grow to about 5,000 square feet. The salt shed would not be moved to Pine Street, and the borough is considering other locations for the storage of salt and other materials.
With the space needs of police and public works met within a portion of the existing warehouse buildings, the rest would be designed as leasable or shell space.
Entrance and site work also are part of the project.
The hub will need a generator to provide power for emergency operations.
The borough also is working on a solar project, for which it received a $500,000 air pollution prevention grant, Ramage said.
“The solar will cover all of the hub’s needs and more,” she said.
