Morris Eyes New Road, Full Management Of Demolished Greystone Tract

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Now that the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital has been fully demolished and environmental cleanup is under way, the County Board of Chosen Freeholders is looking for state approval to take full ownership of the land, and add an additional road to Central Park of Morris County.

The Freeholders passed a resolution authorizing the county to enter into a long-term management and use agreement to lease the 126-acre tract in Parsippany that once housed the facility, and another resolution seeking state approval to divert a portion of the former Greystone tract to build a new access road into Central Park.

Both agreements are contingent on approvals by the Statehouse Commission and the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority, the county said.

If approved, the 126 acres would become the responsibility of Morris County sometime in late 2017 and would be patrolled by the Morris County Park Police.

The county has put aside $1 million to construct a new Central Park main entrance road to run from West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany to Central Avenue, which is the main road through the county park. Establishing the new road would divert much of the traffic to Central Park that currently runs through residential neighborhoods in Morris Plains.

The county would need an easement from the State House Commission in order to move forward with the road.

The Greystone facility was officially demolished last year and in the beginning of 2016 after the hospital was closed in 2008. The demolition cost the state $34 million.