Anyone who doesn’t pay attention to the north end of town over the summer may be surprised in September when the park at Mill Creek Point springs to life.
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) approved a resolution Tuesday entering into a contract with Marino Paving to build the second phase of a planned waterfront park.
Right now, the park is desolate, especially in light of last week’s rainy weather. A functional but sparse boat launch and a few benches dot the landscape of dirt and rocks. Currents from the Hackensack River and Mill Creek clash among islands of phragmites where birds watch.
“[Phase two] will be the construction of the roadway, the entrance circle, landscaping, an amphitheater on the water, and brick pavers all along the bulkhead,” said Public Works Director Mike Gonnelli, who is also on the Meadowlands Board of Commissioners.
Mill Creek is flanked on one side by Mill Ridge Field and the future Hackensack River Greenway river walk on the other. The Town Council appropriated almost $1 million towards improvements at Mill Ridge Field in April. The three-phase Mill Creek construction project began in 2000 and 2001 when the Town of Secaucus purchased the seven and a half acres of waterfront property. The NJMC began improvements, building the boat launch, lighting and bulkhead.
“Mill Creek Park will provide a premier opportunity for wildlife viewing, fishing, and water access for canoes and kayaks to explore the hundreds of acres of wetlands in the immediate area,” the NJMC said in a memo accompanying the resolution at Tuesday’s meeting.
The sites of the Old Mill restaurant and an old rifle range were acquired for the park. Phase two will consist of construction of the Old Mill site, and phase three will be the rifle range.
The $471,008.40 contract was awarded to Marino Paving, who bid less than Let it Grow, Inc., Abbott Contracting, and Flanagan’s.
“We checked his credentials, and he hires good subcontractors,” said Gonnelli.
Gonelli said that construction is scheduled to start in June and completed by September.
“It’s a very aggressive schedule that needs to be completed by September for a ribbon cutting,” Gonelli said. The NJMC itself designed the specs for the park.
Ultimately, the NJMC plans for the park to have a 20 slip marina, half of which will be for the public, and half for the government, including the fire, police, NJMC, municipal, and Riverkeeper vessels.
The marina will be paid for by Baker Residential, who is building 212 residential units along the river.
The river walk
Baker will also pay for the first phase of the greenway, which will reach from the Trolley Park at the end of Paterson Plank Road to the Old Mill. The greenway will have lighting along the whole trail, seating and observation areas, and garbage receptacles and benches along the path.
Midway through the northern portion of the greenway will be a pedestrian access point at Acorn Park, at the end of Farm Road.
The NJMC also approved up to $5,000 to buy plantings to landscape the park. Within the next two weeks, the town’s Public Works Department will plant trees, shrubs, native plants, and wild flowers north of Acorn Park. When completed, the greenway will span 15 miles from Laurel Hill Park at the southern end of town to Mill Creek Point, and will include a bicycle path.
Momentous groundbreaking
In other Meadowlands District news, developers EnCap Corporation broke ground on The Meadowlands Golf Redevelopment Project in Lyndhurst and Rutherford, designed to cap more than 700 acres of landfills and replacing it with a development of four 18-hole gold courses, 750 hotel rooms, 750,000 square feet of office space, 100,000 square feet of retail space, 1,130 active adult residential units, and 850 open market residential units.
EnCap will remediate and cap the landfills, which pose a health risk to the area, in exchange for being allowed to open the residential and commercial units and golf course, which will generate income for the developers. The golf village is labeled a brownfields-to-greenfields initiative, and will be one of the largest such projects in the country.
The governor’s office expects the $1.1 billion project to create 2,400 full-time jobs and 500 construction jobs, and generate $19.1 million in property taxes.