Essex County has broken ground on a three-story, 106,000-square-foot facility in Verona that officials say will save taxpayers $1.8 million a year by letting the county stop renting space for transportation operations, offices and warehouses. The building will also store voting machines and county election materials, consolidating equipment currently spread across rented locations.
According to Montclair Local News, the project carries a $35.6 million price tag and will replace three private locations the county currently rents for transportation parking, offices, warehouses and voting-machine storage. The site sits on the former Verizon maintenance building property, across from a sewage treatment facility in Verona. Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. announced the project's start, saying it will save taxpayers' dollars.
Not everyone has described the project's price tag the same way. A separate report from citizenportal.ai says commissioners introduced an ordinance to authorize a $40 million capital project, and that board members asked staff how current lease expenses compare to ownership and whether the long-term cost justifies the project. That account also says the board introduced ordinances to build the facility and to authorize county guarantees for lease-revenue financing. The dossier reviewed for this story does not reconcile the two cost figures or confirm whether those ordinances received final approval.
Ending Leases in Maplewood, Belleville and Newark
Essex County will end rents for spaces in Maplewood, Belleville and Newark once the new building opens, per the reporting from Montclair Local News. The county previously paid $1.8 million annually in rent across those locations. Essex County awarded a $34.857 million contract to Dobco Inc. of Wayne for construction, and Comito Associates designed the building under an $805,680 professional services agreement, the outlet reports.
Anibal Ramos Jr., who serves as Essex County's Department of Citizen Services director and is also Newark's North Ward councilman, said the building will address challenges parking county vehicles. Essex County Commissioner Board President Carlos Pomares said the project saves money over the long term and protects voting machines and sensitive files. Pomares faces Republican Frank Contella in the District 5 commissioner race.
One Roof for Transportation and Election Storage
The new Verona facility will serve as headquarters for Essex County's special transportation program and will house all three of the county's transportation programs under one roof, according to the same report. Those programs serve seniors and people with disabilities, economically disadvantaged residents, and workforce development participants, and together provide more than 300,000 trips a year. The county has described itself as the only county that almost provides 24-hour-a-day transportation service.
Michael Vieira, director of special transportation services for Essex County, leads those three transportation programs. The facility will also provide dedicated storage for voting machines and election materials, consolidating equipment that has been kept in rented warehouse space. Verona Council Member Christine McGrath, who is seeking an at-large seat on the Essex County Commissioner Board, said keeping election materials in one space benefits election security.
Project Lands Amid Election-Season Politics
The groundbreaking arrives as several of the officials touting the project are also on the ballot. DiVincenzo is seeking a seventh term and faces Republican Maritza Matthews in the county executive race, the outlet reports. Essex County Commissioner-at-Large Brendan Gill, whose term is listed as expiring December 31, 2026, in the county's certified budget records, said the facility will protect election security and improve transportation services; he is not running for reelection.
The county's broader capital spending plan offers some context for the project's scale. Essex County's adopted 2025 budget authorizes $460.435 million to be raised through county-purpose taxation against total general revenues of $866.944 million, and the county's capital improvement program spans six years, from 2025 through 2030, according to Essex County. That same budget document lists a generic building-construction line item, identified as CAP-7, with an estimated total cost of $25 million — $1.25 million appropriated in 2025 and $23.75 million planned for future years. Available county records do not establish whether that line item refers to the Verona project.
Other county facilities named in connection with the rent-savings announcement include the Wynona Lipman Family Courthouse and the Leroy F. Smith Jr. Public Safety Building, both located in Newark. Matt Kadosh reported the details of the groundbreaking and the rent-savings figures for Montclair Local News.
