By: Lauren T. Agnew
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced the project to modernize the tennis court facility and add pickleball courts at Essex County Grover Cleveland Park in Caldwell/Essex Fells was completed on Monday, July 10th.
The project is part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to revitalize the Essex County Parks System and provide the most up-to-date recreation facilities to meet the current needs of residents.
“Residents rely on our parks system for recreation, relaxation and exercise.
Updating the tennis courts and including pickleball courts helps meet the demand of these two popular sports and provides residents with modern facilities to play on,” DiVincenzo said.
“Congratulations to County Executive DiVincenzo and his team on another job well done. Pickleball is a growing sport and creating facilities people need is important,” Commissioner Brendan Gill said.
“This is another project by the County Executive that we can be proud of,” Commissioner Patricia Sebold said.
Jim Casalino, an Essex County Newark Tech teacher, presented DiVincenzo with a pickleball rack where players can hang their rackets to determine who has access to the next open court.
The wood shop students at Essex County Newark Tech created the wooden rack.
Two of the existing tennis courts were transitioned to accommodate four pickleball courts. Two tennis courts are remaining. The complex received a new playing surface, fencing, nets, and sports lighting.
The improvements to the tennis facility were designed in-house by the Essex County Department of Public Works. Shore Top Construction Corp. from Freehold was awarded a publicly bid contract for $566,200 to perform the construction work.
The project was funded with a grant from the American Rescue Plan. Work started in April and was completed in just three and a half months.
Revitalizing Essex County Grover Cleveland Park
In 2018, the playground and tennis courts were modernized. In 2013, handicap accessibility was improved by creating ADA-compliant parking spaces in the Buttonwood Road lot, installing handicap-accessible tables in the picnic area, repairing walking paths to meet ADA guidelines, installing signage and making various landscaping upgrades.
In 2012, the banks, spillway and weirs of Pine Brook, as it passes through Essex County Grover Cleveland Park, were upgraded as part of a $722,653 project.
In 2006, an $825,000 facelift included installing an aeration system in the pond, planting landscaping around the pond edge, renovating the skate house, and updating the baseball/softball field with new decorative lights, bleachers, benches, and fencing.
In 2004, $800,000 was invested to improve the Children’s House and renovate the tennis courts.
In 2003, an $850,000 project included a makeover for the playground with modern equipment, a rubberized safety surface, and the repaving of walking paths and the parking lot. Also, in 2003, the Runnymede Road Bridge was reconstructed.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system established in the United States.
The Park System consists of more than 6,000 acres. It has 23 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, Treetop Adventure Course, an ice skating rink, a roller skating rink, three public golf courses, a golf driving range, two miniature golf courses, five off-leash dog facilities, a castle and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens.
Opened in 1916, Essex County’s Grover Cleveland Park is 41.48 acres, making it the seventh largest in the park system.