The old town highway garage in New Woodstock — currently serving as a New York State Police satellite office — is about to be demolished, with a new building and garage, as well as extra public parking, to be constructed in its place.

The project, announced by the town board in February, is expected to be completed by the end of summer.

“I think it will be a really nice addition to the village of New Woodstock,” said Town Councilor Tom Driscoll, who has been the board’s liaison to the state police during this process.

The board had been investigating the idea of replacing the New Woodstock police barracks for nearly one year at the behest of state police officials, who wanted to be housed in a better, more up-to-date building. That desire coincided with the town board’s intention to eliminate the old highway department building, which was deemed an eyesore in the hamlet.

In February, the town board announced that the town would tear down the former town highway garage and replace it with a 1,100-square-foot modular home with a three-car detached garage for state police use. The board sought resident input to see if people want the police station to stay in the same location, somewhere else in New Woodstock, someplace else in Cazenovia or not in Cazenovia at all, and it was determined to leave the substation in its current location on Route 13.

The existing building, once the Buckingham Ford car dealership in the 1920s, was acquired by the town of Cazenovia in 1956.

“It’s in pretty rough condition” and is “a hodgepodge of construction types,” said Tim Hunt, town highway superintendent. “It was deemed the best course of action to start fresh and build a new, efficient building.”

The state police vacated the building on May 1, and will work out of the Morrisville substation until construction is complete, Hunt said.

Attempts to contact state police officials for comment were unsuccessful.

Total demolition of the current building began last week, and is expected to take all summer, Hunt said. Already completed are the asbestos survey and removal.

Once the site is cleared, the town will place on the site the 1,100-square-foot modular home that will serve as the new state police office. It will sit back from the road and be angled the same as other residential houses on the street so it blends into the existing village streetscape, Hunt said. Town highway crews will do the interior finish work, flooring, painting and build the three-car garage, Hunt said.

The footprint of the new building and garage will be smaller than that of the existing building, so current plans call for the construction of a larger parking lot with about 18 additional free, public parking spaces, Hunt said. There will also be landscaping done around the building and parking lot, he said.

“All of that will be vetted with resident at public meetings to make sure we are headed down a path doing what residents would like to see done,” Hunt said. “We’re trying to make it a process and not just put up a building.”

The cost of the entire project will be borne by the town of Cazenovia, as it has been since the police entered the barracks in New Woodstock.

Driscoll said the cost of the modular home recently purchased by the town for the new barracks was “less than $40,000,” while the costs to demolish the current police substation on Route 13 has yet to be determined.

Community residents interested in the plans for the new police satellite office can view the pictures and proposed plans at the Cazenovia town office during regular business hours.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].