Belleville Park’s $875K Facelift Is Underway: Essex County Officials

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Construction on a $875,000 upgrade to Essex County’s Belleville Park has officially begun, county officials announced last week.

According to county officials, the original playground was installed in 2005 and was showing “signs of wear and tear from regular use.” As part of the upgrade, the old equipment and safety surface were completely removed and are being replaced with new, modern apparatus and a new rubberized safety surface.

The new facility will have swings and a “variety of apparatus” to climb and slide on for ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12, as well as swings and a cargo net climber, county officials stated in a news release.

Additional improvements will include:

• New brick-paved pathways leading to the playground
• New park benches and trash receptacles
• A playground surface in the shape of a butterfly

County officials said that Remington and Vernick from Secaucus received a $52,000 contract to design the new playground, and Shauger Property Services from East Orange was awarded a publicly bid contract for $875,174 to perform the construction work.

The playground is being funded through the Essex County Capital Budget and with grants from the NJ Green Acres program and the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund, officials said.

Work stared in September and is scheduled to be completed by December 2016.

“The county has always been good to Belleville and building a new playground is another example of that great relationship,” Councilman Vincent Cozzarelli said.

Photo: Glen Frieson

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com