By Anna Guido
Enquirer contributor

WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP - Last year's shutdown of the iMotors-.com vehicle reconditioning center on Beckett Road has turned up some good fortune for the township.

The 187,000-square-foot building - purchased by the township to house its growing police and service departments, planning and zoning department and Butler County Area 3 Court - is expected to save West Chester millions of dollars.

"We estimate that we will be saving between $15 million and $20 million because we won't have to build separate facilities for each of the different departments," township Administrator David Gully said. "And there will be continuing savings because everything will be in one location - that will save on insurance costs, administration and utilities."

Originally an AutoNation vehicle reconditioning center, the 9577 Beckett Road facility was built for specialty use, which made it a hard sell after San-Francisco-based iMotors.com closed.

West Chester Township officials were able to buy the building at a reduced rate of $4 million.

"A lot of the space that was used for the automotive rehab business is suitable for our service and maintenance departments, which will take up about two-thirds of the building," Mr. Gully said. "We were one of only a few able to use the building for what it was designed for."

In October, the township planning and zoning department moved into the iMotors building's only finished office space. Another part of the building will be renovated to accommodate the police department and Area 3 Court. Mr. Gully said that work would cost about $3 million, compared to at least $5 million needed to build a new police headquarters.

Over the years, the West Chester Township Police Department has outgrown two facilities and expanded once at its current facility, 9113 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Lt. Col. Gil Flick said.

Two years ago, all township administration offices moved out of the Cincinnati-Dayton Road facility to make room a second time for the police department. Area 3 Court also stayed in the building.

The township administration moved into new office space at 9100 Centre Pointe Drive. The township made an agreement with the developer to use the space rent-free for five years, in exchange for up-front funding of the office building's access road and sidewalks.

Mr. Gully said the township saved at least $500,000 because the road and sidewalk construction work cost $900,000 and rent for five years would have cost at least $1.4 million.

When the police department and Area 3 Court move into their new space at the iMotors building, township administration (including communications, information technology and economic development offices) will move back into the Cincinnati-Dayton Road building.

"All of this moving around has been necessary, unfortunately, but something we have to do to accommodate our growth," Mr. Gully said.

West Chester Township is one of the fastest growing communities in the Tristate.