Branch Brook Park Revitalization Plans

Today, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced the details of two projects to revitalize the section of Essex County Branch Brook Park at the Clifton Avenue entrance. The two projects total about $2.3 million and will stabilize Concourse Hill and develop an open air pavilion on its summit.

The first part of the construction project was started in November 2012 and includes building two bluestone staircases leading from Clifton Avenue to the top of Concourse Hill, the hill that is located between the Clifton Avenue entrance to the park and the Newark Cathedral. Previously, a staircase rose just partway up the hill and connected to a slow rising pathway along the hill's surface. Other work being done along Clifton Avenue includes the installation of a bluestone sidewalk, walking paths inside the park, ornamental steel fencing, two ornamental light fixtures at the intersection of Clifton Avenue and Victoria Avenue, additional landscaping and irrigation, benches and trash receptacles. This phase is scheduled to be completed this summer.

The second phase will begin after the first phase is completed. This includes the construction of a 50-by-35-foot open air, brick pavilion at the summit of Concourse Hill, landscaped gardens, decorative lighting, paved seating areas and pathways with benches and trash receptacles, and parking spaces to make the site handicap accessible. This phase is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013.