Shovels hit the ground at the site of a future expansion to Weehawken’s Waterfront Park complex, which will increase the park’s size to more than 16 acres, excluding parking lots.
After preliminary landscape architecture was complete, expansion was given a ceremonial go-ahead by Weehawken’s elected officials, members of a township-appointed Waterfront Park Committee, project leaders from RSC Architects, Remington & Vernick Engineers, and others.
“Today is a great day for Weehawken,” said Mayor Richard Turner. “When this is all done, it’ll be a 17-acre site, and the largest active and passive recreation site on the Hudson River besides Liberty State Park.”
“I remember back when I was running for office in 2010, and even during the 14 years I spent on the planning board prior to that,” Councilwoman Rosemary Lavagnino said. “I always discussed how we needed a pool on the waterfront. Nobody thought it could be done for the longest time.”
This highly-anticipated expansion has been in the works for years. The township collaborated with an appointed committee composed of more than 20 consultants and residents to flesh out the blueprint.
Pay to play
The Weehawken Township Council authorized funding for the first phase of the project on June 13. It sold more than $4 million in bonds, supplemented by $6 million in grants.
Officials have been working a long time to secure as much state and county funding as possible. Weehawken Township will pay a negligible portion. Costs are estimated at more than $10 million. Almost all the funding will be sourced from Hudson County’s Green Acres and Open Space programs, along with contributions from developers on the waterfront.
There will be volleyball, basketball, and tennis courts, an ice skating rink that will be converted to a multi-use pavilion during summer months, abundant lounge space, six-lane lap pool, recreation pool, wading pool, and splash park, as well as fencing and landscape features.
Pool party
A pier will be expanded over a lagoon to create a contiguous path for the Hudson River Walkway.
The new additions will occupy about 3.5 acres.
As with other municipalities, the pool complexes will require membership fees to cover the maintenance and staffing costs, though it’s currently unclear how much memberships will cost.
Renderings show that the pool complex will be at the northern portion of the property. The 11,200-square-foot ice rink will be at the southern portion of the complex.
Parking is available along Waterfront Park Boulevard. Additional parking is slated for a property where a residential development is being built.
The pools will be the first portion of the expansion to be open to residents while construction continues in other areas. Mayor Turner said that the pools are expected to be open in the summer of 2020, but nothing is set in stone.
He said that the timetable for construction is unpredictable, because of major alterations to the landscape, which has seen heavy industrial and freight use over the past several decades.
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