Essex County officials say a new $35.6 million building in Verona will save taxpayers $1.8 million annually by eliminating rents for transportation facilities, offices and warehouses now scattered across three towns.
The county broke ground Friday on the three-story, 106,000-square-foot facility, which officials said will serve as headquarters for its Special Transportation Program while also providing storage for voting machines and election materials.
County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. announced the project’s start as workers using heavy machinery operated at the site of a former Verizon maintenance building across from a sewage treatment facility. DiVincenzo said the new facility will eliminate rents the county pays for spaces in Maplewood, Belleville and Newark.
‘I Build Things for The Future’
“I don’t want you to think that I build things to build things,” said DiVincenzo, who is seeking a seventh term against Republican Maritza Matthews. “I build things for the future; I build things that are going to save the taxpayers’ dollars. And that’s what it’s all about. We’ve done it throughout the county.”…