$7 Million Rowing Center To Open Soon In Riverside County Park

LYNDHURST, NJ — As part of a revitalization effort for parks that grew out of a decade-long master plan for Bergen County, a new two-story, 14,000-square-foot rowing center is expected to open in Riverside County Park in Lyndhurst this fall, promoting recreational use of the bordering Passaic River, county officials said.

The $7 million facility, which has been under construction since July 2021, will offer storage space for boats on the first floor, and rentable event space on the second floor.

It will also meet rising demand in the sport of rowing, County Commissioner Parks Chairman Steve Tanelli said, adding that he looks forward to the regattas, or races, that will be held there once the facility is completed.

"It is an impressive facility, and it is going to help grow the sport in the South Bergen area," Bergen County Communications Director Derek Sands said.

Funded by grants from the Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund, the New Jersey Green Acres Program, and the Office of Natural Resource Restoration, the boathouse was constructed by DMD Contracting, headquartered in Wayne. It was designed in 2019 by Clarke Caton Hintz Architects in Trenton and Peterson Architects.

Serving as the main operator of the facility is the Passaic River Rowing Association, which has partnered with the county since 2003, and it will offer community rowing programs there, once it is complete, Sands said.

"We couldn't be more thrilled about the imminent opening of the new boathouse, which will offer the rowing association an expanded opportunity to serve the community," President Jeffrey Gingold said in an email.

Riverside County Park is serving as a significant component of the master plan, which passed in 2019, partly because the park is in need of repair, and the property, Tanelli said, is a way to expand public access to the water.

In fact, after the facility opens in August, the county will also add walking trails and an adjacent amphitheater, said Tanelli, adding that has advocated for park investment in the county.

"Revitalization and improvement of our parks is near and dear to my heart," he said.