In Cedar Grove: Essex County Plans $11M Park At Overbrook Hospital Site

Cedar Grove, NJ – Cedar Grove's infamous Overbrook Asylum is finally being demolished, but what will rise in its place?

As Essex County residents bid farewell to the infamous urban exploration site, county officials announced on Friday that the now-defunct psychiatric hospital in Cedar Grove will become the location of a new, $11 million, 77-acre park.

• See related article: Overbrook Hospital: Book Adds To Mythology Of Essex County's Infamous Asylum, PHOTOS
• See related article: More Trespassing Arrests At Old Essex County Hospital Grounds
• See related article: Fire Torches Abandoned Overbrook Asylum Building In Essex County

The park – which will stand on the site of the old Essex County Hospital Center – will be the first county park located exclusively in Cedar Grove and will be the 4th largest in Essex, officials said.

The park will include two miles of walking paths through the park with historic lighting, benches and trash receptacles, county officials stated in a news release.

It will also include the 5,000 square foot Essex County Robert J. O’Toole Community Center (named for Cedar Grove’s retired mayor and councilman), to be located on the eastern side of Fairview Avenue.

According to county officials, the building will have a covered portico in front and a covered patio in the back, and will house a daily congregate meal program offered by the Essex County Division of Senior Citizens. In addition, the facility will be available for other community organizations to hold meetings and special events.

The rear of the building will have four bocce courts and a playground “designed with a farming theme” in deference to the time when there was a farm on the site to support the hospital, county officials stated.

According to a county news release, the land was the last remaining parcel from the old Essex County Hospital Center complex, which was originally slated to be sold to a private developer. However, in 2008, county officials initiated a change in policy and decided to preserve the land as open space.

A lengthy lawsuit involving the developer, the county and Cedar Grove was resolved in 2015 when a compromise was reached, county officials stated.

Parlin-based engineering firm of CME Associates received a $650,000 contract to design the new park. JC Landscape Construction from Pequannock was awarded a publicly bid contract for $11.05 million to perform the construction work.

The project is being funded with a $5 million grant from the NJ Green Acres program, a grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund and the Essex County Capital Improvement Budget.

It is scheduled to be completed by January 2017, officials stated.

“I am really humbled and honored by all this,” O’Toole said, referring to the naming of the building in his honor. “I want to thank the county executive for his promise of creating a new park in Cedar Grove and for following through to ensure it happens.”

“Preservation of this land for passive recreation and a community center fulfills a promise we made in 2007 to minimize development on the old hospital complex,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo stated. “Essex County is one of the most densely populated counties on the East Coast and creating 77 acres of open space will maintain the suburban character of Cedar Grove, provide additional recreation opportunities and enhance residents’ quality of life.”

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Photo of the Overbook Asylum courtesy of Wheeler Antabanez