The Bowman Consulting Group has been awarded a contract to provide design services for the planned reconstruction of Community Park South.
The Princeton Council awarded a contract for $709,201 to the Bowman Consulting Group, which is based in Parsippany, at its Jan. 13 meeting. It was one of nine firms vying for the job.
Community Park South is bordered by Route 206 and the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. The parking lot is accessible from John Street and Race Street.
The Princeton Council approved a concept plan prepared by Suburban Consulting Engineers in 2023.
The Bowman Consulting Group will review and evaluate the concept plan with recommendations for improvement, according to a memorandum to the Princeton Council from Evan Moorhead, the executive director of recreation.
The proposed changes will be evaluated with additional community input before beginning the design process, Moorhead wrote in a December memorandum.
Once the changes are approved, the Bowman Consulting Group will prepare construction-ready plans and specifications to enable the town to seek bids for the project.
“From the staff level, we are very excited about this,” Moorhead told the Princeton Council at the January meeting. “I think the finished product will be amazing for the community.”
The 26-acre park includes several baseball fields, a large multi-purpose athletic field, tennis courts, a walking trail around its perimeter, a picnic pavilion and two dog parks. Two basketball courts and a playground are located near the Community Park School.
The concept plan approved by the Princeton Council featured eight pickleball courts, several picnic groves, a playground, a fitness area and a 12-foot-wide walking path.
It also showed two dog parks – one for large dogs and one for smaller dogs – and two softball fields and a multi-purpose athletic field. As well as platform tennis courts, a dozen tennis courts and a practice wall.
Princeton Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros said it would not be possible financially to make all of the improvements at once. The park’s redevelopment would likely be done in phases.
Pirone Lambros suggested investigating whether funding would be available through state or federal grants. It is possible that corporations or individuals may want to contribute toward the project, she said.
“This is just really a gem of a unique park and really the heart of our community,” she said. “There is a real importance to investing in it, and looking at this for the long term for health fitness and recreation.”
Andrew Koontz, who chairs the Princeton Recreation Commission, said the park improvements have been on the “to-do list” since at least the mid-1980s.
“This is a significant step,” Koontz said.
