08 Sep ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO REOPENS ESSEX COUNTY WEEQUAHIC PARK MAINTENANCE BUILDING AFTER COMPREHENSIVE RENOVATION
Published on September 8, 2026
Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced the reopening of the Parks Maintenance Facility in Essex County Weequahic Park in Newark on Tuesday, September 8th. The building received a comprehensive facelift so it now provides modern storage space for equipment and up-to-date working accommodations for Parks’ employees who work in Weequahic Park and Weequahic Golf Course. It is part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to update infrastructure so the needs of the community can be met.
“While the public does not utilize this building, the operations that are based here are directly connected to promoting the experience that visitors have when they visit Weequahic Park or play at Weequahic Golf Course. Providing new storage spaces and working areas will help our employees better serve our visitors and help them continue to make the park and golf course spectacular places to enjoy,” DiVincenzo said.
“Essex County has the first county parks system in the country and we are still first when it comes to environmental justice and maintenance of our parks,” Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz said.
“This project is another tribute to the attention that the County Executive places on the maintenance of our parks and recreation facilities,” Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin said.
The original building was stripped to its basic shell and rebuilt with a new roof, windows, doors, and HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems. The garage area of the building will be utilized to maintain and store electric golf carts used at Essex County Weequahic Golf Course. To accommodate this, an extensive cart charging system was installed. Space also is designated to store landscaping and other maintenance equipment. Office space and locker rooms for employees were updated to provide modern accommodations. Fencing, upgrades to the parking lot and landscaping were done on the exterior.
BWS Architects from Parsippany received a professional services contract for $275,000 to design the improvements. ZN Construction Inc. from Elmwood Park was awarded a publicly bid contract for $4,168,000 to perform the construction work. The Essex County Department of Public Works monitored the project to ensure delays were avoided. Funding for the project was provided through the Essex County Capital Budget and a grant from the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund.
Revitalizing Essex County Weequahic Park
The third baseball field was modernized with a synthetic infield playing surface and natural grass outfield in 2026. In 2025, the walking track around Weequahic Lake was resurfaced and named in honor of Weequahic Park Association founder Wilbur McNeil and new outdoor exercise equipment was installed. In 2024, the basketball courts and tennis courts were resurfaced. In 2022, the Little League Field off of Elizabeth Avenue received a new synthetic grass surface. In 2021, the Feldman “Mootsie” Middleton, Jr. Community Center was replaced with a 15,000-square-foot modern building. In 2018, the Elizabeth Avenue playground was modernized with new apparatus and a rubberized safety surface and the restroom building was renovated. In 2017, The First Tee facilities were upgraded and the entranceway, parking lot and field house were modernized at Weequahic Golf Course as part of a $3.1 million project. In 2016, one of the baseball fields was modernized with a synthetic grass playing surface, new fencing and scoreboard and named in honor of the late Bill Hicks, a long-time little league and high school baseball coach. Also in 2016, the community center was named in honor of Feldman Middleton, Jr., one of the founders of the Weequahic Park Association and the Weequahic Park Sports Authority, and the playground was named in honor of activist Carl Sharif. In 2015, the playground by Building 92 was modernized with new equipment and a rubberized safety surface. In 2012, the four entrances to Weequahic Park received a facelift with traffic islands, lighting, paving and landscaping to beautify the area and enhance pedestrian and traffic safety, and the basketball courts were named in honor of the late Delano Gordon, founder of Above the Rim. Essex County partnered with the National Football League to install a new half-mile fitness course with six exercise stations in 2010. Weequahic Golf Course received a major overhaul in 2009 as part of $7 million modernization project in each of the County’s three public golf courses and the Weequahic Bridge was reconstructed for $3 million. A synthetic grass surface baseball field and four basketball courts were developed as part of a $1.8 million project in 2007. Essex County welcomed The First Tee and its nationally recognized youth leadership training program to Weequahic Golf Course in 2006. The First Tee constructed a state-of-the-art, three-hole youth golf facility for its program adjacent to the golf course. The playground at Building 96 at the Chancellor Avenue entrance to the park was modernized with new equipment and rubberized safety surface in 2006. The Elizabeth Avenue tennis courts were rebuilt in 2004.
DiVincenzo has partnered with the New Jersey Green Acres program, the NJ Department of Transportation, the Essex County Parks Foundation, Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund Advisory Board, Weequahic Park Association and The First Tee to secure grants to fund the improvements in Essex County Weequahic Park.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system in the United States. It has been expanded to include about 6,000 acres of land and includes 20 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, golf driving range, miniature golf course, five dog parks, a castle, Treetop Adventure Course and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Weequahic Park is 311.33 acres, is one of the original five County parks created in 1895 and is the second largest park in the Essex County System.
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