Giving New Providence Fields That Play in Any Weather
Oakwood Park is one of the largest parklands in New Providence and has long served as a gathering place for the community’s recreational sports programs. But residents had grown accustomed to a frustrating cycle: rain would render the natural grass fields unusable for days or weeks at a time, and heavy utilization between storms never gave the turf a chance to recover. The Borough’s Recreation Capital Review Committee developed a plan that went beyond fixing the drainage problem. They wanted to fundamentally expand what the park could offer.
Our team provided planning, site design, and engineering services for the construction of approximately 200,000 square feet of synthetic turf, including one Babe Ruth-sized baseball field, one little league and softball field, and two soccer fields. The synthetic surface is a cost-effective solution that reduces erosion and keeps players on the fields regardless of weather. The design also included the expansion of two existing parking lots, a pathway network connecting both lots to the athletic facilities, lighting, drainage, and associated utilities.
A Detention Basin That Doubles as a Community Asset
One of the project’s most creative outcomes was rethinking the site’s detention basin. Rather than treating it as purely functional infrastructure, our team devised a design that allows the basin to host fishing derbies in warmer months and serve as an ice skating and hockey rink in winter. It’s the kind of solution that turns an engineering requirement into a community amenity.
The project required a subdivision to separate the parkland from the adjacent Public Works Complex, along with permits for soil erosion and sediment control and coordination with NJDEP Green Acres regarding project funding. Our team also provided daily construction inspection services throughout. For a community that had been losing its fields to every rainstorm, Oakwood Park now delivers year-round access and a few recreational options that nobody expected from a stormwater basin.
