By Sunayana Prabhu
MIDDLETOWN – There would be a new park in town soon, promised the Monmouth County Park System – in 2018. Now, after years of pandemic and other delays, park officials finally have a project update.
Environmental remediations and site improvements on Swimming River Park have begun and, if the project stays on schedule, the township will boast picturesque new grounds along the river by the end of this year.
Swimming River Park covers about 11 acres of open waterfront space at the border of Red Bank at the junction of the Swimming and Navesink rivers. The property, formerly known as Chris’ Landing, functioned as a boating facility since the 1960s. The focus of the operation was a boat ramp for access to the Swimming River, limited boat slips, a small bait and tackle shop and winter boat storage. Chris’ Deli, the popular market and liquor store, was also on the site.
Middletown Township had been interested in turning the property into a public park for many years. In 2015 the park system acquired it with assistance from the Monmouth Conservation Foundation. The park system plans to replace the aging boat ramp and bait and tackle shop and to make other site improvements.
This recent addition to the park system will provide scenic views of Red Bank and allow additional public access to the river for fishing, crabbing, wildlife observation and exploration of the marshes and coves in the Swimming River watershed.
In order to ensure safe recreation, the park system is working with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to improve water quality for the Swimming River watershed and secure public access to the river. According to Swimming River Park project information on the Monmouth County Park System website, “The park system intends to expand recreational opportunities by redesigning the site and replacing all the facilities. Park improvements will be built to current code, provide accessibility, and increase public access.”
Dredge materials, historic fill and asphalt millings were found on the property during an environmental investigation by park officials. The report further stated that “environmental permits and a remediation plan were completed with assistance from Brinkerhoff Environmental Services.”
Providing an update about the park to The Two River Times, Andrew North, chief landscape architect of the Monmouth County Park System, said, “We are currently working on underground utilities which has slowed some progress recently but will continue to move forward over the next few weeks.”
Demolition of all existing buildings was completed in July 2019, but construction was delayed due to the extensive permitting process. Spiezle Architectural Group is under contract for architectural and engineering services to design the site improvements and proposed boathouse. The construction contract for Phase 1 Remediation and Site Improvements was awarded March 21, 2022, to Precise Construction, Inc. of Freehold for $2.5 million. Construction is under way and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. A contract for dredging the area around the new boat docks will be awarded separately this year.
The article originally appeared in the July 28 – August 3, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
