WOODCLIFF LAKE—Hoping to see park construction begin by summer or fall, the Borough Council unanimously approved introduction of a $3.5 million bond ordinance mostly for construction of the long-awaited ‘Galaxy Gardens’ passive park on April 15.
A public hearing on the bond ordinance is set for Monday, May 20 at 7 p.m.
The park will be located at the corner of Werimus Road and Woodcliff Avenue, former site of Galaxy Gardens nursery and garden center.
The borough bought the 2.1-acre property for $1.65 million in early 2018, and spent nearly $500,000 in remediating soil contamination from prior uses as a garden center and a service station before that.
Administrator Tom Padilla said the $3.5 million estimate came from the borough engineer (Neglia Engineering) and architect (DMR Architects), noting the borough was hoping future construction bids would come in less than the bonded amount.
Padilla said though the borough may authorize bonding for $3.5 million, adding “We only borrow as we need it.” He said the borough was expecting “a rather sizable donation” from a private source to help offset construction costs. He said the borough also had $246,000 in county grant monies that would be used to offset park costs.
Padilla said the anticipated timeline was that the borough expected state DEP approval for construction of the park near a Category One waterway by late May. Following that, the borough hoped to go out for bid by advertising bid specs in early June.
Once bids are received and vetted by borough professionals, he said, they hope to have a bid proposal for council approval at its June 17 meeting, if all goes as planned. If approved, “The idea would be that construction could begin pretty much right away,” he noted.
Padilla said a likely timeline if a contractor was approved in June could be a late fall 2024 “soft opening” with a grand opening likely in spring 2025. If a contractor was not selected in June, or bids rejected, that would cause another delay.
“One thing is we’re obviously moving forward on this now and we’re hoping to have some construction done there soon,” said the administrator.
The park’s design was unveiled in summer 2022 by DMR architect Frances Reiner, and the conceptual drawings can be found on the borough website. Over the last several years, park construction estimates have ranged $2.9 million to $3.5 million, with officials, including Mayor Carlos Rendo, stressing that much of the cost will be covered by county grants, and donations from companies and private individuals.
At the borough reorganization meeting Jan. 4, Rendo said the two local priorities for 2024 were construction of a new Galaxy Gardens passive park, and new walking trails around the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir .
For more details, see “‘Ready to go’ on Galaxy Gardens Park Bids,” Michael Olohan, Page One, Feb. 19, 2024, Pascack Press. Related articles can be found by searching for Galaxy Gardens on our website.
Rendo told us in February, “It’s a great thing to take an environmentally impacted area, clean it up, and give it back to the community.”
Rendo previously told Pascack Press that an anonymous individual had donated $750,000 for the park, and that Party City, which moved its corporate headquarters to 100 Tice Boulevard in 2022, had kicked in another $250,000.
Previously, Rendo had said park naming rights were a fundraising item, and still up for negotiation with interested parties. He told us recently that the council hoped to have a park naming contest” in the near future.
He said another likely source of park fundraising would include the sale of at least 14 personalized park benches and a donor wall for major donors or contributors.