HILLSDALE, N.J.—While the Patterson Street Redevelopment project and downtown rehabilitation have traction heading into 2021, a long-discussed community center for all residents has yet to come into focus.
Throughout November and December 2020, residents for and against adopting a local redevelopment plan heard the possibility of a community center mentioned time and again.
The center was one potential community benefit should council approve a developer’s requested height/density bonuses for a redevelopment effort.
However, no such proposal is before council members.
When the industrial area’s redevelopment plan was approved in early January, councilmembers stressed that no developer had a proposal ready, though Mayor John Ruocco said he anticipated a proposal to soon materialize, possibly related to the Waste Management property.
Ruocco said he would prefer to bond for a community center as that would give local officials more oversight over the contractor, construction, and timetable.
Borough Engineer Christopher Statile recently prepared a 23-page report on six potential community center options ranging from about $50,000 annually to lease space in an existing structure to about $1.5 million for building and parking lot costs.
However, following multiple mentions of the need for a community center by officials during the debate over redevelopment, the bare-bones community center previously envisioned by council (and described in Statile’s report) was broadened beyond simple meeting rooms, a kitchen, a conference hall, and a focus on seniors.
“As a result of discussions on redevelopment in the industrial area, the council members began to question why a proposed community center could not be more expansive and include various sport amenities and facilities such as basketball courts,” Ruocco told Pascack Press last week.
Ruocco said that he and Borough Administrator Christopher Tietjen asked each councilperson to write down their respective wish lists for the center. He said Tietjen has compiled the list “of what the ideal community center should contain, as per the council’s desires.”
He said following discussion, the council would need to agree to what the community center would include and then hire an engineer to design, estimate costs, and find a suitable location for such a facility before approving.
“A decision would also have to be made as to how to finance it and whether the price tag and impact on property taxes raises the need for a referendum in the collective mind of the governing body,” Ruocco said. Those wish lists were not available to report by press time.
Ruocco said that since the council’s wish lists for a community center were tallied, no further action has occurred.
Councilman Frank Pizzella said the Economic Development and Growth Committee, which he chairs, would begin work on redevelopment and rehabilitation concerns on Friday, Feb. 12, but noted his committee had not weighed in on a community center.
He said most members have offered views on a future community center’s features: “With that, it became very clear that what the borough engineer was originally asked to come up with does not meet the expectations of almost all council members.”
He added, “I believe it’s correct that the council is to consider different and alternative avenues to pursue a community center and other things they want to make the community better. Redevelopment is only one possible alternative that could help pay for a community center. As I have said, we have no agreement with anyone.”
Asked if a community center would be an ongoing topic in 2021, Pizzella said that and several other topics, such as redevelopment and downtown rehabilitation, would be on the agenda.
“I believe if anyone is serious about a community center or a senior center or updates of any kind that the dialogue needs to continue much further and regularly,” he said.
Statile’s report notes data on 14 specific nearby senior centers and spells out six local options for a scaled-down senior/community center. It notes that Hillsdale’s needs appeared similar to River Vale’s 4,500-square-foot senior and community center, and cited a local 5,100-square-foot facility as being comparable.
It appears Statile’s report was conceived and prepared before most on council considered what a community center might include and have since revised their thinking on benefits/services.
Finance Committee Chair Abby Lundy told Pascack Press last week that low interest rates make 2021 “an ideal time to bond” for a community center and that the council might soon discuss visions for the project.
She said she didn’t see tying the community center to a possible redevelopment effort as feasible, especially with bonding costs so favorable.
Lundy said she would like to see an expanded community center, maybe at Stonybrook Swim Club, to include room for basketball courts, a multi-purpose meeting room, a lunch room, and area for senior recreational activities, possibly summer camps, and other adult recreation.
She noted Statile would prepare an updated report and include amenities desired by council members and residents. She said initial ideas for a center comprised an approximate 4,500-square-foot facility but more needs and activities there require an expanded facility.
The six initial options included:
- Renovating and retrofitting the Verizon Building at 175 Broadway or acquiring a long-term lease on the property;
- A new building and the acquisition of lots between 375–355 Hillsdale Avenue;
- A new building near Centennial Park;
- A new facility at Beechwood Park;
- The use of part of Stonybook Swim Club to build a new facility;
- The use of part of the municipal parking lot downtown for a new senior/community facility.
“The Borough does not own a building that can be renovated for a new senior/community center. However, there may be other viable existing buildings that the Borough can look to purchase or lease,” states the Borough of Hillsdale Senior/Community Center Siting Study, published November 2020.
We reached out on cost estimates for those options and will follow up in subsequent issues.