The City of Hoboken has secured $3.1 million from county and state grants for parks and open space upgrades, officials said this morning.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
These funds will support upgrades to Church Square Park including a new toddler playground, the expansion of the Southwest Resiliency Park, and the development of a new and expanded waterfront skate park as part of Maritime Park.
“I am extremely proud that we are moving forward with new parks and improvements to over 10 acres of open space in Hoboken,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in a statement.
“This grant funding will provide important resources to help see these projects through to completion, including an expanded Southwest Resiliency Park to help combat rainfall flooding, as well as the buildout of Maritime Park at the former Union Dry Dock site. I greatly appreciate our partners at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, and Hudson County for their support.”
The city also received $1.4 million from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) for the expansion of the Southwest Resiliency Park, currently under construction at 58 Harrison St.
Once finished, the park will provide recreational amenities including a basketball court, playground, and pickleball courts.
The park will also mitigate rainfall flooding through above and below ground infrastructure which will more than double the existing parks capacity to detain over 460,000 gallons of stormwater.
For more information on the Southwest Resiliency Park expansion, click here.
This month, the city was awarded $500,000 from the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund, $750,000 from the NJ DEP) Green Acres program, and $65,000 in New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA) Local Recreation Improvement Grant (LRIG) funding for improvements to Church Square Park.
This new grant funding will be used in conjunction with $150,000 in NJDCA LRIG funding previously awarded to the city in 2021 and 2023 to construct the first phase of Church
Square Park enhancement projects this Fall.
Church Square Park upgrades will include a new inclusive toddler playground in the southwest portion of the park, a new open lawn area in place of the old toddler playground, a landscaped buffer along the existing dog run, and the addition of new public restrooms.
The improvements will be consistent with the park’s historic character and were identified by the public during preparation of the Church Square Park Vision Plan. For more information on Church Square Park improvements, click here.
Hudson County also awarded Hoboken $250,000 in 2024 Open Space Trust Funds to create a new enlarged skate park, improve the adjacent portion of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, construct new pedestrian plaza, and replace the existing bulkhead with a living
shoreline as part of the first phase of Maritime Park, which is anticipated to begin construction next summer.
When complete, Maritime Park will include expansive active and passive recreational spaces, a large flexible lawn, an expanded beach, a community hub building, new piers for increased shoreline access, and a play area featuring natural materials and structures.
For more information on Maritime Park, click here.