Playground equipment is finally rising at Diane Grimes Park in Woodland Park, with site work complete and installation underway on a redesign meant to let children of all abilities play side by side. Plans for new tennis and pickleball courts have also been finished, though there's no construction schedule yet for when those improvements will begin.
Vincent DeCesare, chairman of the borough's Recreation, Community Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee, reported the progress, according to TAPinto. The borough broke ground on the overall project in September 2025 and began the renovation work in March 2026, after existing playground structures were removed to make way for the new equipment.
An Inclusive Playground Years in the Making
The redesigned playground, designed by Kompan, is intended to create opportunities for children of varying abilities to play together while giving Woodland Park families a fresh recreation amenity, per the same TAPinto report. It will include accessible equipment and a ramped play structure that lets wheelchair users reach elevated play areas, alongside equipment built for children who use walkers.
Beyond the accessible features, the new playground will offer separate play areas for different age groups, swings, climbing structures, a quiet play area, fitness equipment, and family gathering spaces, the TAPinto report notes. The project has been in development for roughly four years, and the borough deliberately secured multiple grants so the improvements could be completed together rather than rolled out in separate phases.
Weather Delays and a Push Toward a November Reopening
Mayor Tracy Kallert said weather conditions caused construction delays and that the borough is working to recover the lost time, according to TAPinto's report. Kallert said Woodland Park aims to celebrate Diane Grimes Park's grand reopening in November.
Court upgrades remain a separate piece of the puzzle. The borough engineer has completed plans for tennis-court renovations and new pickleball courts, and Woodland Park plans to put those court improvements out to bid soon, but no construction schedule has been announced for when that work will actually begin.
How the Project Is Being Paid For
The renovation is being funded through a mix of grants, including the Passaic County Board of Commissioners Open Space Fund, federal congressionally directed funding, a New Jersey DCA Local Recreational Improvement Grant, and NJDEP Green Acres/Jake's Law funding, per TAPinto's reporting. The project has carried an estimated cost of $1.3 million to $1.4 million, though an earlier TAPinto report on the plans had described it as a $1.2 million to $1.3 million project, and the dossier does not resolve which figure is final.
Jake's Law funding, the state program tied to inclusive-playground construction, allows costs associated with all requirements of a completely inclusive playground to be included in a Green Acres application, according to a fact sheet from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Beyond the park upgrades themselves, Woodland Park also plans to plant trees and shrubs at the site through the Passaic County Dig In grant.
