October 26, 2010
NEWARK — It is being billed as the Chelsea Piers of Newark.
Rock climbing walls, boxing rings, a soccer field and a golf simulator are among the features of "The Waterfront," a 26,000-square-foot recreational facility being built just off Route 21 and a block west of the Passaic River in Newark’s North Ward. Elected officials and Newark Housing Authority executives broke ground today on the site, touting the center as a long-awaited boon to the area.
"If I had $100 for every time somebody told me... it’s not going to happen, I’d be a wealthy man," said housing authority director Keith Kinard. "It’s happening as we speak."
The authority is the developer and owner of the $9.7 million facility, scheduled to open in November 2011. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development kicked in $7 million for the project through a Hope 6 grant, and another $2.7 million was provided by a federal community development block grant, officials said.
"Today, through this very important project, the NHA demonstrated our commitment to building communities that work," said Modia Butler, the authority’s chairman and Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s chief of staff.
The facility is just opposite the Riverside Villa — also known as the Grafton Avenue projects — roughly 200 units of public housing. Elected officials from Newark said the creation of facilities like the Waterfront have been foremost on area voters’ minds for years.
"One of the things we heard consistently is that ‘We want more recreational facilities,’ " said North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos.
"Slowly, our residents who live in public housing are getting the respect and dignity they deserve," said Booker.
The center will require membership, but officials today could not say how much that would cost or if there would be discounts for Newarkers. Multiple community groups, such as the Just One Soccer League, are expected to use the facility to run programs for seniors and children in the area.
Aside from the exercise facilities, the Waterfront will feature a video game design laboratory, a recording studio a dance floor and a function room.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez — who local officials said was instrumental in securing federal money for the project — painted the Waterfront as a much-needed alternative to street life.
"At the end of the day, I think about how many lives in the center will be transformed," Menendez said.
A major sports complex opened in Elizabeth 10 years ago and was touted as a similar destination spot to the Waterfront. It folded roughly five years later because of financial problems.
According to Menendez, since the Waterfront is federally funded, it will not be geared as much towards profit as towards service to the community. "This isn’t about making money," the senator said. "It’s about transforming lives."
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