Woodcliff Lake
For years, Mayor Carlos Rendo has placed the opening of a park at the corner of Woodcliff Avenue and Werimus Road at the top of his “to-do” list.
The park that was talked about since January 2018, when the 2.1-acre site at the former Galaxy Gardens nursery and garden center was purchased for $1.65 million by the borough, may likely be open to residents by spring or summer 2025.
Rendo previously said that a park has been a decade in planning — with multiple delays for cleanup, seeking NJDEP permits, and park design concepts. A public park naming contest was held that ended in September, though no final park name has been selected yet by council.
Since its purchase, around $500,000 was spent to remediate soil contamination from prior uses as a garden center and a gas station. And in May, the council appropriated $3.5 million to build the park, based on estimates from its borough engineer and architect.
The local Open Space Trust Fund paid $175,000 as a down payment on a $3,325,000 bond to fund the construction. Officials noted that they have received $600,000 in county Open Space grants, plus commitments for another $1 million in donations, to fund the park.
While officials hoped they might host community holiday gatherings at the long-planned “Galaxy Gardens” Park in 2024, that did not occur but park progress continues. Following the June park contract awarded to Applied Landscape Technologies, Montville, for about $2.8 million, construction vehicles and workers have transformed the site into a park that will feature a bandshell, gazebo, walking path, an area for veterans’ monuments, and a small parking area.
Officials previously said prior Open Space grants and some private donations would cover the majority of park costs. However, it was unclear exactly how much of the park was paid for by taxpayers, including its purchase price, remediation, and future bond payments.
Recently, most unsettling news of Party City’s headquarters closing, and employees dismissed, reached local officials. How, or if this will affect their prior donation made to the new park was unknown at press time. Also, another new tenant will be sought for their vacated property.
Also, the sale and redevelopment of the former Hilton Hotel and property to a development group led by Zygi Wolf, along with the sale of approximately 20 acres at BMW’s national headquarters, likely weighs heavily on residents and local officials concerned about tax ratables, attracting new corporate business, as well as future residential, commercial, and mixed-use housing impacts.
Called Garden Homes, Wilf’s development group purchased the 21-acre Hilton property in February with officials noting then that they hoped to redevelop it for housing.
Next, a personal note…