A scaled-down plan to renovate Community Park South would cut the project’s estimated cost from $35 million to $18.8 million, but Princeton Council members remain concerned about whether the town can afford the improvements.
The revised proposal, presented to the council at its Oct. 26 meeting, reduces the scope of the renovations and eliminates several amenities included in the original plan. The council could consider taking action on the proposal at its Nov. 23 meeting.
Community Park South is a 26-acre park bordered by Route 206 and the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. It currently includes several baseball fields, a large multipurpose 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 Community Park School.
The original concept plan, prepared by Suburban Engineers and approved by the Princeton Council in 2023, called for extensive renovations. Proposed amenities included two softball fields, a multipurpose athletic field, picnic groves, a fitness area, playgrounds, a maintenance building, separate dog parks for small and large dogs, shade structures, tennis courts and pickleball courts.
The council hired Bowman Consulting Group in January 2025 to review the concept plan and prepare phasing plans and construction documents so the project could go out to bid.
However, the estimated $35 million price tag proved to be too expensive, prompting the consulting firm to develop a less costly alternative.
The revised $18.8 million plan reduces the scope of the improvements, although about $7.5 million would still be needed for site work, including erosion control, grading, paving, electrical lines, utilities, landscaping and furnishings.
The original plan called for renovations in three phases. Bowman Consulting Group eliminated the third phase and modified the first two phases to reduce costs.
The revised first phase eliminates a maintenance building, a parking lot and some shade structures. It would include 12 tennis courts, six with lighting, and a tennis pavilion. Eight pickleball courts would be built, four with lighting, along with two lighted platform tennis courts that could be expanded to four in the future.
A tennis practice wall and the main pavilion would also be included in the first phase. The existing dog runs would remain largely unchanged, although new drinking fountains and some fencing are planned. The estimated cost of the first phase is $10.6 million.
The second phase, estimated at $8.1 million, would include baseball fields, one with lighting, and two soccer fields, also with lighting at one field. The baseball and soccer field pavilions have been eliminated from the plan.
The third phase, which has been eliminated entirely, would have included improvements to the dog runs, volleyball courts, a playground, a splash pad and shade structures.
Andrew Koontz, chairman of the Princeton Recreation Commission, said the deteriorating conditions at Community Park South cannot be ignored.
The tennis court surfaces are at or beyond the end of their useful life, and the pickleball courts are painted on those same surfaces. The platform tennis facility is in disrepair, and there are no public restrooms.
Councilman Brian McDonald praised the Recreation Commission, Recreation Department and Bowman Consulting Group for developing what they believe is the best plan for Community Park South. However, he suggested the council should have been more involved in the planning process.
“I think one of the missing pieces was just that this body wasn’t very much involved and it likes to be involved. We need to kind of think about that, going forward and also how to address this particular project,” McDonald said.
Despite efforts to reduce costs, McDonald said the project’s financial implications remain a major concern.
The $18.8 million estimate does not include construction administration, management and planning costs, which could push the total to $21 million. Inflation could drive costs even higher.
“We have a real challenge and I think it’s the central challenge. It’s not that this isn’t an important project that in a perfect world would move forward immediately, but it comes at a time when we are addressing four major challenges with respect to long deferred maintenance,” he said.
McDonald pointed to four major projects facing the town: improvements to the sewer system, the road program, construction of a new Department of Public Works facility and the Community Park South renovations. Together, those projects could cost $175 million to $200 million, he said.
For McDonald, the question is not whether the park improvements should move forward, but whether undertaking the project now would be financially responsible.
He suggested delaying further action until the council receives a more detailed cost estimate. The council agreed to that approach.
Mayor Mark Freda said the council could revisit the proposal at its Nov. 23 meeting.
“The hope is that at the Nov. 23 meeting, there is an updated presentation and that it is possible at that time that we might be able to vote to take an action,” Freda said.
