In the middle of a development boom, Hackensack getting its parks in order

From basketball courts to playgrounds, Hackensack’s park system is undergoing a dramatic overhaul with upgrades to more than a half dozen parks in every corner of the city.

The improvements were needed after many years of little or no upgrades and as the city welcomes thousands of new residents amid a development boom, officials said.

“We have quite a few parks and not a lot of work had been done in them in a long time,” Mayor John Labrosse said. “All of our parks were in need of something. We’re working on every park we can.”

Here's a breakdown of some of the work:

Baldwin Park

At Baldwin Park, an existing baseball and softball field will be renovated to make it accessible for children of all abilities. The playground will also be made accessible, new fencing around the playground will be installed and seating and the park’s water fountain will be replaced.

Carver Park

New basketball courts are the main improvements coming to Carver Park. The popular courts began cracking in recent years and had become unsafe to play on, officials said. Because the courts are so heavily used, city officials are pushing to get them done as quickly as possible. They will probably be ready for play by the end of the summer, said Ryan Westra, an assistant project manager with the city.

Bleachers, benches, new fencing, scoreboards, bike racks and lighting will also be installed.

Columbus Park

At Columbus Park, new basketball, volleyball and futsal courts are being installed. Also planned for the park are bathroom renovations, playground equipment upgrades, field improvements and exercise equipment.

Foschini Park

Officials hope drainage improvements at Foschini Park — the city’s largest park — will resolve the flooding problems that have long plagued the fields there.

The plans for the park have been submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection, Councilwoman Stephanie Von Rudenborg said. Under the plans, the fields would be raised, and artificial turf lighting and scoreboards would be installed. One of the fields would be converted into a multipurpose football and baseball field and batting cages and exercise equipment would be added.

Hackensack is hoping to get bids for the first part of the project in July and complete construction sometime next year.

Johnson Park

At Johnson Park, plans for a dome that can accommodate multiple indoor sports are in the design phase. Officials said they do not yet have a cost estimate for the project. When the facility isn’t in use by city children Hackensack could rent it to outside groups, Labrosse said.

Railroad Avenue Park

The city has applied for a grant for a new playground at Railroad Avenue Park, a small park with a swing set that will be affected by a multimillion-dollar project to separate parts of the city’s aging sewer lines. Work to replace the sewer lines will go under the nearby rail line, Westra said, so officials hope to take the opportunity to upgrade to a full playground at the park.

Staib Park

The work at Staib Park is the farthest along of the parks' improvements and is almost complete. Those upgrades include new walkways, a playground, restrooms, a concession stand and a large gazebo. The gazebo will be a useful area for children in the summer recreation program to play under during inclement weather, Labrosse said.

Much of the work is being funded through grants. The city received $1.2 million from Green Acres for the improvements to Carver and Columbus parks and plans this month to apply for more to cover those two projects. The upgrades to Staib Park, which will cost $934,000, were partly funded by a Bergen County Open Space grant. The city also received a $63,800 county open space grant for lightning detection systems in five parks.

The remainder of the cost of the projects will be bonded. The new developments downtown have allowed the city to make these upgrades, officials said.

“As more and more of the developments come online, we can reduce our debt and do other things with that money,” Labrosse said. “We’re the biggest city in Bergen County and we don’t have a lot of open space. We want to make sure our parks are safe and well used by everyone.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Amid development boom, Hackensack getting its parks in order