{"id":10285,"date":"2025-10-16T19:22:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/?p=10285"},"modified":"2025-10-16T19:22:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:22:59","slug":"toms-river-building-new-park-with-750k-in-green-acres-funding-on-previously-acquired-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/2025\/10\/toms-river-building-new-park-with-750k-in-green-acres-funding-on-previously-acquired-lot\/","title":{"rendered":"Toms River Building New Park With $750K in State Funding on Previously-Acquired Lot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Buildings<\/a>

Buildings are demolished on the site of a new park at Clifton Avenue and Bachelor Street in Toms River, Oct. 2025. (Photo: Toms River Twp.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Toms River is constructing a new park on a parcel of land that was purchased by the township several years ago and had not been utilized. The plan to build a park on the site, located at the intersection of Clifton Avenue and Bachelor Street, east of the downtown sector.<\/p>\n

Mayor Daniel Rodrick said this week that the park will be constructed with state Green Acres funding in the amount of $750,000. A preliminary estimate to build a park on the site earlier this year pegged the cost of construction of a park between $1.5 and $1.75 million, however Rodrick said that included expensive demolition work that has already been completed by township employees instead of hiring an outside firm. Additional funding for parks had already been authorized in previous capital outlays, which would account for any costs over that which was covered by the grant, he said.<\/p>\n

The new park will feature state-of-the-art playground equipment, including swings and play structures designed to offer engaging activities for children of varying ages. The engineering work for the park is nearing completion, and the playground materials have been selected by township officials. Construction is expected to begin in early spring.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s heartening to see this vision begin to take shape, supported entirely by a state grant of $750,000, ensuring that the project is fully funded without any impact on our municipal budget,” said Rodrick.<\/p>\n

The section of town in which the new park is being constructed current as a dearth of playgrounds and public green space, Rodrick said, with residents having to go to Castle Park or Silverton Park for recreation. The property was purchased for $4 million in 2023 after the previous owner offered it to the township. The alternative, officials said at the time, would have seen the land sold to a private developer that would have built 12 homes on the site in accordance with the underlying zone code. The postal addresses for the two subdivided plots were 554 Clifton Avenue and 525 Batchelor Street. The two buildings that were on the site \u2013 which had been owned by the same family since 1939 before members decided to put it up for sale in 2023 \u2013 were demolished recently by the township after remaining standing for two years, largely abandoned.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A rendering of a new park at Clifton Avenue and Bachelor Street in Toms River, Oct. 2025. (Photo: Toms River Twp.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Rodrick said there will be additional park improvements announced soon, including the resurfacing of several basketball courts and the addition of spray park attractions.<\/p>\n

“As construction begins on our new park, and as we revitalize our sports facilities, I am excited to witness the positive impact these changes will have on our residents,” the mayor said in a statement.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Toms River is constructing a new park on a parcel of land that was purchased by the township several years ago and had not been utilized. The plan to build a park on the site, located at the intersection of Clifton Avenue and Bachelor Street, east of the downtown sector. Mayor Daniel Rodrick said this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[2075,2074,1080,1709,11],"class_list":["post-10285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","category-toms-river-life","tag-bachelor-street","tag-clifton-avenue-park","tag-featured","tag-park","tag-toms-river-nj-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/parkbg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10285"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10290,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10285\/revisions\/10290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}