District Court Moving to Adjacent Condo in Hatboro

After some research and reference checking, borough officials deemed the lowest of eight bidders acceptable to fit-out a vacant condo at neighboring Victorian Village.

After a background check, a call to references and a thorough evaluation of bids, the Hatboro Borough Council on Monday awarded a contract to the lowest of eight bidders to transform an adjacent condo into the borough's district court.  Southampton-based Maxis Construction will be paid $292,200 to fit-out a new home for District Judge Paul Leo. Once the work is complete–likely later this year–Leo's cramped second-floor courtroom will be relocated to a now-vacant condo at Victorian Village.  "They’re on time with their work and they don’t ask for change orders," Borough Manager Fred Zollers said of Maxis, adding that references shared with borough officials that the company is "easy to work with." Zollers told the governing body that he's …

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Hatboro Postpones Court Building Fitout

The Hatboro Borough Council is expected to vote later this month to award a contract for the fitout of district court.

Feeling the sting of the beleaguered Enterprise Fire Co. expansion project, Hatboro officials postponed awarding bids for the fitout of a new home for District Judge Paul Leo Monday. In all, the borough received eight bids ranging from $292,200 from Maxis Construction in Southampton, to the highest bid of $483,000, according to Borough Manager Fred Zollers. The bids have been turned over to the architect for review "and to make sure each bid is for what we asked for," he said. "Some of the bidders we were unfamiliar with as a staff," Zollers said, adding that he wanted to "take time and investigate the background on each of them" before the council awards a bid. Zollers told Patch that extra care was being taken because of the more than …

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Hatboro Advances Plan to Relocate Court

The Hatboro Borough Council voted this week to solicit bids to determine costs of outfitting a new home for District Justice Paul Leo.

Hatboro officials are moving forward with plans to possibly relocate District Judge Paul Leo to vacant space at neighboring Victorian Village. The borough has been looking for several years to have Leo's court relocated from its current locale in the cramped second floor of borough hall to the adjacent location, amid the strip mall where Victorian Village Italian Bistro, as well as a bank and a nail salon are located. The council this week approved the solicitation of bids for the outfitting of what Borough Manager Fred Zollers described as a "shell." "There’s not even a floor," he told Patch. "No plumbing, no walls." The contractor would "have to do everything" to get the never-used space ready for its intended purpose. Zollers said the …

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Hatboro Seeks Bids to Relocate District Judge

The Hatboro Borough Council intends to move the district justice office from the second floor of the municipal building to a space in the adjacent Victorian Village.

A 10-year lease between Hatboro and Montgomery County is contingent on the cost of outfitting a vacant condo at Victorian Village to house District Judge Paul Leo. The borough has been looking for several years to have Leo's court relocated from its current locale in the cramped second floor of borough hall to the adjacent location, officials said during Monday night's meeting. "He’s moving no matter what," borough solicitor Christen Pionzio said. "We want to keep him here." Pionzio said she hopes that this time the price is right to transform the space for use as a district court. "Otherwise we’re going to have two vacancies," Pionzio said. The governing body took no action on Monday, but intends to formally authorize solicitation of bids…

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Hatboro's Village Italian Bistro to Reopen

New owners have purchased the Village Italian Bistro and plan to open it, with a new name, in January.

Rosalina Cordero has an ambitious goal for reopening the recently shuttered Village Italian Bistro in Hatboro. Cordero, a California native who moved to Horsham about two years, intends to reopen the former eatery, which is situated in a strip mall within the Victorian Village age-restricted community, by the first week of January. The restaurant had closed in October, following the death of previous owner, Jacqueline Geiger. "Because of the holidays," Cordero said she realizes that the opening may need to be pushed back to the second week of January. Once opened, the family-run restaurant will be called Victorian Village Italian Bistro, a slight modification of its previous name. Hatboro Main Street Manager Stephen Barth said the …

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Official: Village Italian Bistro Will Reopen

Hatboro's Village Italian Bistro closed earlier this month following the death of owner Jacqueline Geiger.

Village Italian Bistro closed earlier this month following the Oct. 11 death of owner Jacqueline Geiger, but a Hatboro official said the eatery is expected to reopen soon. Calling its closure a "very temporary situation," the source said the restaurant is expected to open within the next 30 days. "It is in the hands of the attorneys." The restaurant, which is located in a strip mall along with a bank and several other storefronts, is part of the age-restricted Victorian Village residential community at 420 S. York Road in Hatboro. When reached for comment Sunday, Hatboro Main Street Manager Stephen Barth said, "No plans will be made until after Oct. 31st at which time Victorian Village, the owners of the site, will evaluate future plans."

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Hatboro Considers $20K Facilities Study

The council plans to interview three architecture firms to determine which is best suited to conduct an analysis of borough-owned buildings.

The Hatboro Borough Council is looking to spend about $20,000 to get a better handle on the condition of borough-owned buildings. During Monday night’s council meeting, the governing body agreed to conduct interviews of three architectural firms – TCA Architecture, Kimmel-Bogrette Architecture and KCBA Architects  - to determine which should carry out an all-encompassing facilities study. Officials decided to interview those three firms based on the proposals submitted, which show costs ranging from $19,415 for TCA to $24,400 for KCBA. A fourth firm, which submitted a $50,000 proposal, has been eliminated from further consideration, the council agreed.  Ultimately, the facilities study could shape Hatboro’s future in terms of potential …

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Vacancy

Vacancy: Victorian Village

The age-restricted community of two bedroom, two bathroom residences has a 2,000-square-foot commercial space available.

Tell us in the comments what you would like to see fill this vacancy. Vacant: 420 S. York Road, Hatboro Description: A space is available within the Victorian Village 55 and over condominium community. Size: 2,000 square feet Zoning: Office, RC-1 (office buildings, dental/medical clinics, retail, restaurants all permitted) History: The Victorian Village at Loller Academy was constructed in 2008 and 2010. Billed as a small community within the residential living community, Village Italian Bistro, Susquehanna Bank and Mai's Nails and Day Spa are located onsite. This specific space was built in 2009, but never occupied, according to Hatboro Zoning Officer Keith Fugate. The Challenge: Hatboro Main Street Manager Stephen Barth said the …

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Hatboro to Conduct Facilities Study

The council is hoping an architectural firm can offer direction on the best ways to address space and aging structure needs of borough-owned buildings.

Before the Hatboro Borough Council can undertake large-scale, big-ticket capital projects, it first must have a better grasp of the condition of borough-owned facilities, an official said. To that end, Council President John Zygmont said the governing body, during a recent non-voting capital budget meeting, decided to move forward with an all-encompassing facilities study. The hope, according to Zygmont, is to determine what should be done with the police building in terms of renovating or rebuilding; how the public works departments' need for space could be addressed; and what should be done about the 3,500-square-foot building – eyed for a new district court office - located within Victorian Village. Combining some or all of these …

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Victorian Village Asks Hatboro to Bring Heat

The council agreed to heat the borough-owned first floor so upstairs tenants are not as cold.

The Hatboro Borough Council has agreed to heat things up at the borough-owned 3,500-square-foot building within Victorian Village - provided costs can be kept to $2,500. The ground floor space, originally envisioned Hatboro district court, is currently vacant and without plumbing, insulation, or heating. The lack of heat is bringing an added chill to the upstairs apartments, officials said. Victorian Village has requested that the borough install electric heat. Borough manager Steven Plaugher said the 55 and over community has been after the town for several years to heat its space. Council President John Zygmont said he was concerned about the cost of electricity and said something must have been done in in past seasons. "There may not …

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