By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – Marine Park is about to transform into a bustling community space.
Site plans for the park won unanimous approval from the planning board late last month. The park, damaged by Super Storm Sandy, will now be revitalized with a playground for children of all abilities as its centerpiece.
The all-inclusive playground is estimated to cost the borough nearly $2.2 million. Up to $750,000 will be funded through the state’s Jake’s Law, which incentivizes municipalities to build accessible playgrounds for children and adults with disabilities. Last year, the borough authorized nearly $4 million in capital improvements for the entire Marine Park project.
“These are features of the plan that the community envisioned: children’s play area, lawn areas, passive recreation opportunities, stormwater capture, waterfront access and a welcome plaza,” said Michael Reiser, a professional engineer from CME Associates who presented the plans at the meeting.
The playground is divided into two distinct areas: a section for 2- to 5-year-old children and a zone for those 5 to 12 years old. Some of the features integrated into the playground are a custom pirate ship structure with an ADA-accessible platform; a ground-level, swing-like 80-foot zip line; an embankment play area with slides and climbing built into the slope in the hilly part of the park; a tunnel bridge used for climbing, and more.
“I am in love with this playground,” board member Barbara Boas said. “I think this is going to be one of the best things that Red Bank has done in a long time.”
Additional park amenities include a large open lawn area for events, an amphitheater for concerts, a curved pergola with seating, a kayak and jet ski launch and a food truck zone.
The revitalization plan involves removing 19 of 56 existing trees, a proposal that sparked comments from members with strong reservations about tree removal.
“I think this is a bad decision,” board member Lou DiMento said. “I would love to see an inclusive park, but I don’t know why we have to excavate the whole hill on Marine Park.”
Reiser explained that grading changes were necessary to create a fully inclusive playground. “There are different areas that are steep that have to be flattened out more,” he said. To mitigate tree loss, the plan includes replanting 29 new shade trees, 28 ornamental trees and “hundreds of new shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses as well as some wildflower seed mixes,” Reiser said.
A licensed tree expert had already recommended that seven trees be removed, and the replanting plan was developed in consultation with the borough’s shade tree committee. As noted in the borough’s 2023 Master Plan, Marine Park, tucked at the end of Union Street off East Front Street near the Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center, was significantly impacted by Super Storm Sandy in 2012.
Borough officials have been looking to revamp the park for years. Architects from Kompan, a playground equipment manufacturing company, and CME Associates, the borough’s professional engineers, have been working on a phased approach to restore the park for community use.
Phase one, which covers improvements to the bulkhead walkway and replacing the old tennis courts with new ADA-compliant parking lots, is already complete. Currently, a green open space is being constructed to replace the existing parking lot. Phase two is out for bid and includes the park’s conceptual plan as envisioned by the community, like the playground, passive recreation opportunities, stormwater capture, and waterfront access, among other features.
The open green space can be used for events, passive recreation, concerts, seasonal events, fireworks and farmers markets and is “really just a great space that better utilizes the waterfront,” said Reiser.
“Thank you for making it as functional as it probably could be and for really making use of that space. I think it’s an underutilized space, and I’m really excited to see that it’s being done correctly,” board member Itzel Hernandez said.
“And it’s free,” she added, referring to park access. Construction for phase two is scheduled to begin in late spring, with playground equipment installation expected by late summer or early fall.
The article originally appeared in the April 3 – April 9, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
