Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla today announced the City of Hoboken broke ground on the Southwest Resiliency Park expansion at 51 Marshall St., which will double the size of the park, manage stormwater to mitigate area flooding, and provide additional open space and needed recreation amenities to residents.
"Today marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to create a more resilient Hoboken," said Mayor Bhalla. "The expansion of the Southwest Resiliency Park will not only offer recreational and green spaces, but also provide a critical tool to help mitigate rainfall flooding in West Hoboken. Thank you to the many residents who provided input for the park’s final design. I look forward to opening the park with you all next year!"
Crews will begin clearing the space of equipment today, in preparation for the full construction of the park’s permanent features.
The 1-acre park space will include six pickleball courts, a basketball court, a playground, picnic tables, and a social plaza at the expansion's entry. On rainy days, the park will mitigate flooding by detaining up to 300,000 gallons of stormwater through above and below ground infrastructure. Rainwater will be captured and stored during storms through permeable pavers in the ground, green infrastructure, rain gardens, street bioswales, and an underground detention system. The large underground basins will withhold the stormwater during rainfall which will then be released into the city’s combined sewer system to mitigate on-street flooding.
The project is a component of the Rebuild by Design Hudson River Project (“RBD - HR”) – and the City’s comprehensive stormwater management strategy to delay, store, and discharge stormwater. Heavy rain can often overwhelm the combined sewer system and flood low-lying areas of the surrounding neighborhood.
In 2021, the Bhalla administration announced the acquisition of Block 10, the site of the Southwest Resiliency Park expansion, from Academy Bus and soon after, a temporary pop-up park was opened so residents could immediately benefit from additional recreational space. The final permanent park design was developed through an open public planning process that included community engagement sessions and surveys to gain feedback on possible park amenities.
The acquisition is being financed through the New Jersey I-Bank and grant funds from the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund and the Green Acres Program. The City also received more than $6.24 million to fund elements of the park related to rainfall flood mitigation in its second successful Building Resilience in Communities grant application from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
For more information about the Southwest Resiliency Park expansion project, visit www.hobokennj.gov/swparkphase2.
For weekly construction schedule go to www.hobokennj.gov/construction. Construction on the park expansion is expected to conclude in fall 2025.
