Morris County breaks ground on health and emergency multi-purpose facility

PARSIPPANY-TROY HILLS, NJ (Morris County)- Morris County broke ground this week on a new multipurpose facility on the grounds of the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy to provide improved space for the Office of Public Health as well as garage and storage areas for the county’s key emergency response vehicles, personal protection gear and life-saving equipment.

The project, located off West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany-Troy Hills, is being financed through federal American Rescue Plan Act funding earmarked for improving Morris County’s public health facilities and the county’s ability to respond and prepare for public emergencies.

The storage area will house vehicles and equipment from the Morris County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Law and Public Safety, including the Office of Public Health and Office of Emergency Management.

The facility, which will be approximately 65,540 square feet, will cost about $18 million.

The building, in part, will improve operational space, including meeting rooms and storage facilities, for the Office of Public Health as well as expand the county’s ability to house important response vehicles and centralize locations for emergency equipment. The Office of Public Health is currently located in a former armory building a short distance up West Hanover Avenue. That building will eventually be upgraded and repurposed for other county operations.

Site work began last week, and construction is expected to begin soon.