Wednesday, October 17, 2012
As the Orange Reservoir area near the South Mountain Reservation is renovated and repurposed, Essex County considers history
This week, Essex County began preliminary work to open a recreation area along the Orange Reservoir as part of the South Mountain Recreation Complex, along Northfield Avenue. Plans are underway to open a boathouse and pavillion where visitors can rent paddle boats, walk, hike, fish and ice skate along the reservoir, which borders the South Mountain Reservation. The 2,047-acre reservation is located in parts of West Orange, Maplewood and Millburn. As its first step, Essex County razed an old house this week, and passersby had an unobstructed view of the water for the first time in decades. That view is familiar to Frank McEnerney, whose grandfather lived in the Cherry Lane house, serving as superintendent of the reservoir. According to …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
A new open-air pavilion, boathouse with paddle boats, and large parking lot expected to be constructed by Essex County at unused reservoir.
Visitors to the South Mountain Reservation will be able to rent paddle boats, bicycle on paths, go fishing and ice skating at the Orange Reservoir, based on plans released by Essex County officials. The county has leased the reservoir, adjacent to the complex and said plans for the new attractions will bring dollars to the county. The 115-acre reservoir will be redeveloped into recreational grounds where people can rent paddle boats, walk, bike, fish and ice skate, among other things. “For a number of years we have been talking about this area and hoping, really hoping that we would someday reach this conclusion,” said Essex County Freeholder Patricia Sebold. “Everyone benefits.” The county’s plan to redevelop the Orange Reservoir came …
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The agreement between the county and Orange comes at a time when West Orange and Orange have ongoing litigation regarding back taxes on the reservoir.
Essex County Freeholders voted to approve a $1.6 million agreement with the City of Orange to lease the Orange Reservoir for 20 years. The vote passed mid-last week despite freeholders Bilal Beasley, Leonard Luciano and Donald Payne Jr. being absent. The agreement will allow the county to incorporate the reservoir into its South Mountain Recreation Complex, which borders the reservoir. The complex already includes the Turtle Back Zoo, McLoone’s Boathouse, Safari Mini-Golf and Codey Arena. Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo’s office declined to comment on the lease agreement Monday, but said they would release additional details about the plans for the reservoir in the future. Although the reservoir is owned by the city of …
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Preliminary Army Corps of Engineers' study shows large reservoir on South Mountain could alleviate flooding downstream
After the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed on Thursday that a bigger reservoir on the South Mountain Reservation could alleviate flooding along the Rahway, the Mayors Council on Rahway River Flood Control set out to convince Essex County that it’s a project worth pursuing. If the river towns and Essex and Union Counties leave the project up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it could be several years before work could even begin and that is not palatable to mayors whose towns suffered a combined $75 million in damages during Irene. “This has to be done sooner rather than later. When’s the next big storm going to hit? We don’t know,” said Millburn Mayor Sandy Haimoff, who hosted two meetings of the Mayors' Council, the Corps of …
Ralph
2:28 pm on Sunday, October 14, 2012
Adam- The entire complex is part of what the county built and I welcome the investment to make it an even nicer attraction. We certainly need to deal with the back taxes, but this is a win for WO. I have yet to take anyone their and not have them come away with a positive impression of our town. What the town should concentrate on doing is helping to attract new businesses along Northfield Ave by… more ›