UPDATE ON 1600 PARK AND HOBOKEN COVE
The City of Hoboken is making progress on two park and open space projects in Northern Hoboken, 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove, and will soon hold public meetings to solicit community feedback on the design of the parks.
“The residents of Hoboken deserve more parks and recreation space,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “Starting more than a decade ago, concerned residents fought to preserve this area for open space, and thanks to their efforts, we will soon have these two new parks which will add an additional 4 acres of open space for our community.”
Because the projects had been stalled for years, the City risked losing grant funding due to inaction.
“I’m proud that my Administration moved quickly to preserve more than $1 million in site remediation funding that would have been lost if we had not acted by the end of 2009,” added Mayor Zimmer.
1600 Park is located north of 16th Street between Willow Avenue and Park Avenue, while Hoboken Cove is east of Park Avenue and north of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway just north of the Hudson Tea building. A related Hudson County project, Weehawken Cove, is an 800 foot stretch of Hudson River Waterfront Walkway adjacent to the Hoboken Cove area that will connect Weehawken to Hoboken and include a kayak and boat launch. The groundbreaking for Weehawken Cove took place on Monday, September 20th.
Environmental cleanup of 1600 Park is nearly complete and has been contracted out for Hoboken Cove. Concurrent with the environmental remediation of Hoboken Cove, the City will develop designs for both parks. A Request for Proposals which is due by October 13 has been issued for a firm to design both properties “as a comprehensive, cohesive park.”
Once a design firm has been selected, multiple public meetings will be held in the fall to solicit community input on the designs for both parks.
“I look forward to working with the community to develop plans for this much-needed park space,” said Mayor Zimmer.
The planning process is scheduled to last through the fall and winter, and bidding for a construction firm is planned for early spring.
To complete the design and development phase, the City has a $1 million Green Acres grant for 1600 Park, and Toll Brothers is required to contribute $1 million per a developer’s agreement. An additional $1 million Green Acres grant will go to fund Hoboken Cove, along with a $700,000 Green Acres loan which may be forgivable and approximately $200,000 from a Hudson County open space grant.
Residents interested in receiving updates about the 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove projects can email Communications Manager Juan Melli at jmelli@hobokennj.org.
Link: http://www.hobokennj.org/news/update-on-1600-park-and-hoboken-cove/ ◦
