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Politics & Government

Lincoln Park Savings Bank Plans Upgrades

Planning board enthusiastic about improving "aesthetically challenged" building.

The Lincoln Park Savings Bank on Changebridge Road is getting a renovation some township officials say is long overdue.

Bank representatives attended Thursday's Montville Township Planmning Board meeting to discuss plans to renovate the two-story building, located at the corner of Changebridge Road and John Henry Drive, north of the municipal building.    

The building, which is about 40 years old, has been operated by Lincoln Park Savings Bank for 25 years and pre-existing conditions currently do not conform to the township code, according to bank attorney David Hickson.    

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The property, Hickson said, does not meet minimum requirements for lot size and parking, among others.    

Additionally, the second floor of the building contains an apartment that is currently unoccupied.    

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Branch Manager Michael Carloni told the board that the bank employs three people, including him, with a fourth employee brought in on an as-needed basis. Most business, though, is done through the bank's single drive-in window.  

He also said the bank does not have a bypass lane, stating that customers wishing to drive past the drive-in window to get to the ATM machine on the other side of the bank must wait in line with drive-in customers.    

The bank plans to add a second drive-in lane and a bypass lane, Carloni said. A canopy will also cover the drive-in lanes.    

Several shoebox lights ranging in height from 12 to 15 feet will be added for security reasons and will be placed on a timer that will turn them off automatically at 11 p.m.    

"The parking lot is now dimly lit and this is a safety hazard," Carloni said.

The parking is also across the parking lot from the bank with the drive-in lanes between the parking and the building.

"This is also a safety problem," Carloni said.    

Plans call for parking to be placed adjacent to the bank with the drive in lanes along the outer perimeter of the lot.    

At least 24 spaces will be installed in the lot to conform to township regulations. New entranace and exit signs will be installed as will a monument sign along Changebridge Road, Carloni said.    

The renovations will necessitate the demolition of part of the bank, Carloni said. 

The second floor will be converted into a store room and meeting room for bank executives and regulators to meet. The existing kitchen will be used as an employee breakroom, Carloni said.    

"Ideally, we do not want a single family apartment upstairs," Carloni told the board. 

Landscaping will include the installation of a six-foot high vinyl fence along the bank property's western edge, which is bordered by a private residence.     Construction will take about six to nine months, with landscaping beginning next spring, Hickson said.     

Board members generally agreed with the renovation, calling the property "aesthetically challenged," and saying the property has not been improved in years.

The renovations will make the property "aesthetically pleasing" and safer, they said. 

In other business, a hearing on Rails Steakhouse's plan to develop property on Whitehall Road were tabled to the board's September meeting. Rails applied for a site plan variance to build an apartment/retail/restaurant complex on the site.

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