BUCHANAN TOWNSHIP — Buchanan Township officials stood shoulder to shoulder Thursday evening as they dug shovels into fresh, blonde dirt to symbolize a new beginning for the municipality.

Thursday, Buchanan Township broke ground on its new township hall building. The project, two years in the making, will cost $1.2 million to be paid out of the township reserves. The new building will add heat and air conditioning, security and video monitoring, and additional parking. Additionally, township residents will be able to rent space in the new building for events once construction is complete.

The new building will be around 5,000 square feet, roughly the same size as the current township hall.

“This is an exciting day. It felt like this day was never going to come,” said Township Supervisor Mindy Cole-Crocker about the groundbreaking.

The project was introduced to the public last summer when the township invited residents to view two proposed plans — one to repair and remodel the existing building at the cost of $900,000 and one to build a new facility at the expense of $1.2 million. After three months of input from the community, residents determined at a rate of two to one to construct a new facility.   

Cole-Crocker said that as the current building was built in 1950, a new building or extensive remodel of the existing building was necessary to continue to make the township hall useable.

“The electrical is failing. The boilers that heat the board room have all failed,” she said. “Plus, it is necessary just for technology and energy efficiency.”

Architect Kevin Barker, of Barker/Nestor, said the new building would be cost-effective and energy-efficient.

“When [the current township hall] was built, a lot of energy-efficient things we do today were not done,” Barker said. “[The new building] will be more energy-efficient, and space-efficient because we were able to lay it out from new and reduce the square footage.”

General Contractor Ralph McDonald, of RMC Quality Construction in Buchanan, said the new building is expected to be completed in February 2020. Once construction is complete, township employees will move into the new building, and the former building will be demolished.

As both McDonald — who works in Buchanan — and Barker — who grew up in Buchanan — have ties to the township, they said they were excited to begin working on the township hall project. Both said they believe the new building will benefit residents.

“We really feel grateful that we got chosen for this project and are really looking forward to working with the board,” McDonald said.

“This is like coming home in a way,” Barker added. “I like working on local projects like this. It was a great honor to be selected to do the work here.”