.City Council hired an architectural firm to conduct a feasibility assessment of the former Bachmann’s Tavern, which the city plans to acquire to use as a youth center and to house the school district’s all-day pre-kindergarten.

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The governing body approved a resolution (AR-15-24) during its meeting on Monday night, awarding a $17,500 contract to RSC Architects for “architectural services as they relate to the feasibility assessment.”

An October 2023 proposal from the Hackensack-based firm outlined the services and costs. The former tavern building is a 2 1/2 -story structure of about 6,700 square feet, excluding the basement, according to the proposal. Construction is partially complete with exposed framing and preliminary “roughed-in” accommodations. “Final improvements need to be implemented to accommodate the future public use.”

The city plans to purchase the property for shared use between the city and Board of Education as “administrative office space and community programs,” according to the proposal.

Last March, City Council approved legislation to finance the acquisition of the partially constructed former tavern and an adjacent lot at St. Georges and West Lincoln avenues (Block 255, Lots 31 and 32). One ordinance authorized borrowing $2.6 million for the acquisition and first phase of renovations and another authorized the city to acquire the property “by negotiated agreement or exercise of the power of eminent domain through condemnation.”

Planning for the project consists of the “determination of outstanding work, including an estimate of associated costs; review of programming, space needs, and functional requirements, and preparing conceptual design for the project uses.”

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