Cost to Demolish PAL Building Could Reach $20K

The cost of tearing down Teaneck’s former Police Athletic League building on Belle Avenue was estimated to be between $10,000 and $20,000, but added expenses for clearing the site were also likely, according to township officials.

The estimates did not include related utility work anticipated if the building was removed, Township Manager William Broughton reported.  

“The quote doesn’t include restoration of the property and it’s possible there might be an oil tank there so that would have to be removed,” Broughton said at a council meeting late last month.

The town council has been mulling the future of the long-vacant building. Councilman Elie Y. Katz has pushed to have the structure converted into meeting space. Katz has pointed to suggestions he said he received from local groups interested in using the space and offers from volunteers to help rehabilitate the building.

Some residents, however, have said the rundown building should be removed and efforts to renovate it would be a waste of town resources.

In April, the council approved a $20,000 grant to install handicapped bathrooms in the vacant building.

Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin said the council was reviewing options for the site and no decisions had been made.

“We wanted to do a comparison to see what it would cost to rehabilitate the building versus tearing it down to get rid of it,” he said, adding it could cost around $50,000 to restore the building.