Plans for a new resiliency park in Hoboken – one that could withhold over a half a million of gallons of stormwater to further mitigate flooding in on the west side of the city – are moving forward, Mayor Ravi Bhalla said.
Plans for a 1.43-acre park at 800 Monroe St. will be shared in the fall as part of a public planning process aimed at gaining community input, the mayor’s office said.
In addition to the normal amenities, the park would become the city’s fourth resiliency park, in addition to the Northwest Resiliency Park, Southwest Resiliency Park and its expansion, and the 7th and Jackson Resiliency Park. The fourth park would give the city a total of more than 10 acres of parks with above and below-ground flood mitigating infrastructure.
“The creation of Hoboken’s fourth resiliency park at 800 Monroe is another major step forward in our efforts to provide more green space while simultaneously mitigating flooding during heavy rainfall events,” Bhalla said.
“Hoboken will continue to lead the way for the region in implementing dual-purpose, innovative strategies to improve the quality of life for all of our residents, and this park is the latest example. I look forward to hearing input from our community as to the park’s amenities in the coming months.”
The Hoboken City Council unanimously awarded the contract to the engineering firm AECOM to provide proposed park designs at the July 20 council meeting. By October, the City and AECOM will host the first of several public engagement sessions to gather community input, which will be used to create design alternatives that could integrate active and passive recreation amenities, green infrastructure, resiliency components, and urban design.
The park also is proposed to connect to the Green Circuit, as detailed in the city’s master plan.
The project team will launch a project website in the coming months for members of the public to stay informed throughout the design process.
The City acquired the property, initially slated for residential development, through a three-way land swap agreement with the Applied Parties last year. Before the Monarch acquisition, a 186-unit residential building was planned for the lot. As a part of the Monarch settlement, the City will utilize approximately $550,000 in funding from the Applied Parties for the 800 Monroe design process, with no impact to the municipal budget.
Council President and Third Ward Councilman Michael Russo saluted the city for using the land for a park.
“This location will complete a vision for an expanded park system in our neighborhood,” he said. “Once completed, this park will help not only alleviate flooding in the third ward and beyond but also give residents new recreational opportunities. Thank you to the administration for prioritizing this space as part of the Monarch deal.”
Fifth Ward Councilman Phil Cohen, chair of the community development subcommittee agreed.
“Instead of a large residential building with over 180 apartments located at 800 Monroe, residents of Northwest Hoboken can look forward to having a beautiful resiliency park in the neighborhood designed with the public in mind,” he said. “I look forward to meeting with the community and the AECOM project team to design a park that reflects our needs as a city.”
The city has opened two resiliency parks since 2017; the Southwest Resiliency Park and the 7th & Jackson Resiliency Park, which can detain a combined total of 670,000 gallons of stormwater during heavy weather events. The city is scheduled to open its third and largest resiliency park, the Northwest Resiliency Park, in the spring of 2023. It will detain up to 2 million gallons of stormwater and provide over 5 acres of open space.
The city continues to engage in a community design process to double the size of the Southwest Resiliency Park at Block 10 at Observer Highway and Harrison Street. The city and project team will present a final proposed concept design on the above-ground active recreation and below-ground stormwater infrastructure to mitigate area flooding this fall.
