The former county library headquarters is now the base for the prosecutor's office.
The annexation of the former county library headquarters is complete.
Warren County and law enforcement officials on Wednesday cut the ribbon on the Courthouse Annex, the former library site across from the county courthouse in Belvidere.
County and law enforcement officials officially marked the opening of the Warren County Court House Annex with a ribbon-cutting on Sept. 23, 2015. (Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com)The freeholders last year awarded a $3.61 million contract to refit the site at 199 Hardwick St. for the Warren County Prosecutor's Office. Overall costs, including furnishings, totaled $4.3 million, but the project is expected to save about $400,000 annually, according to the county.
Prosecutor Richard Burke called it "a tremendous day not only for us in the prosecutor's office but also for the taxpayers of Warren County."
The space has already been in use for several weeks. The prosecutor's approximately 60-person staff -- previously spread out over a number of sites -- moved into the new space over the summer.
MORE: Prosecutor's office consolidating in new location
Burke said the larger space will benefit a modern-day prosecutor's office.
"We have to deal with a lot of technology because we have to keep up with the criminal element," he said.
The original section of the annex dates back to the 1800s.
The library moved its headquarters to White Township in 2013 after 39 years in the building. County social services also moved to the township building, on Shotwell Drive off Route 519.
The freeholders said they plan to refurbish the Warren County Court House next year.
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