Bristol Township Council has approved Bucks County government’s plans for a new facility.
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The council unanimously approved preliminary and final development last week for the new Lower Bucks County Government Services Center.
The site along New Falls Road in Bristol Township’s Levittown section is currently home to a county government annex used by various departments near the Levittown Branch of the Bucks County Free Library and District Judge Terry Hughes’ courthouse.
The new facility would be constructed in front on the aging warehouse used by the district attorney’s office.
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A project official told township officials feedback from the municipality’s officials was used to rework the plans.
The county government was granted several waivers, including for stormwater, sidewalks, and parking.
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LevittownNow.com broke the news in 2022 that the plan was being worked on, but things began to move quicker this summer.
The new two-story facility’s construction will add parking for the new facility in the rear of the property and create a park-like quad in front of the building. The quad could be used by the community, officials said.
The existing Lower Bucks County Government Services Center building has been in place for 30 years.
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The new county government annex will be used by various departments – ranging from sheriff’s deputies to the health department – and has more space for additional services.
The county and township plan to team up on applying for some grants for pedestrian improvements in the area.
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Township Manager Randee Elton said the county did committee to adding sidewalks around the area, but when that happens depends on grant funding for the undertaking along Wistar and Woodbourne roads.
The county will go from having 30 to 40 employees in the existing building to more than 70 in the new one, county officials said.
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The existing annex will be torn down by the county.
The county has no plans to demolish any of the other buildings at the property.
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Members of council have been supportive of the project, but there were some concerns over traffic impacts and pedestrian safety with the technical high school being nearby.
The county didn’t plan to conduct a traffic study for the plan, citing cost and their opinion that the new facility isn’t a major change for the site.
“With all due respect, show us a traffic study,” Councilperson Patrick Antonello said.
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Councilperson Maryann Wagner also pushed for a traffic study. She also had concerns about impacts to technical high school students if cars are cutting through.
The cost is expected to top $10 million, and federal American Rescue Plan Act money will be used.
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The construction of the facility is expected to start soon and last as long as two years, county officials said.
The current Lower Bucks County Government Services Center building is 30 years old.
The county’s current facility has been undersized for years and talks about a larger facility have popped up more than once over the past 20 years.
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Bucks County purchased the 135-acre site that is being used decades ago. It was previously used for the manufacturing of rocket engines and 20mm ammunition from Morton Thiokol. The county paid $1 for the site, but had to pay for demolition and conversion of some facilities and also to clean up contamination of numerous hazardous materials on the site and in its soil.
Some of the property was used to build the Bucks County Technical High School and the county later had to purchase 8.2 acres for $400,000 from a mortgage company to avoid development on the land, according to a copy of The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1994.
The Bristol Township Planning Commission told county officials in 1990 that they wished officials had a larger and more comprehensive plan for the tract. At the time, it was noted that the roughly 5,000-square-foot building that exists today would have to rotate departments in and out to accommodate staff and residents.
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In 1962, one man was killed and five others hurt at the Morton Thiokol site when an unused pipe exploded at the site. The blast was reported by the Levittown Times to have rocked houses across the lower end of the county. The explosion badly damaged an unused section of an ordinance shed.
Over the past 15 years, the county has undertaken several large building projects, including construction of the Justice Center in Doylestown Township, converting the former courthouse into the Bucks County Administration Building, shrinking the number of leased offices across the county into buildings owned by the county, and selling off unused facilities.
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