Brick Township Receives $600,000 Grant for Traders Cove Recreation Area

Brick-(PR)–The Township of Brick has been awarded a $600,000 matching grant by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Agency Green Acres Program for the development of Traders Cove.  This raises the total amount of grant money the Township has received for the development of Traders Cove from the Green Acres Program to $2.5 million.

“We have been very successful in our efforts to secure grants to help fund the Traders Cove project,” said Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis.  “We have been awarded nearly $9 million in total grants for the development and acquisition of Traders Cove and we appreciate every single dollar.  Without these grants, Traders Cove would not have been possible.”

Aggressive pursuit of grant funding has been a priority of Mayor Acropolis’ administration.  “Grants are a win-win for our taxpayers.  They help us fund projects that improve the community while keeping the costs down to the citizens and taxpayers.  We have been successful in obtaining them and will continue to pursue them as long as I am Mayor,” said Mayor Acropolis.

Traders Cove is an 11-acre waterfront marina that the Township of Brick purchased in 2005 to protect from being developed into high-density residential development.  The property is located on the Barnegat Bay on the north side of the Mantoloking Bridge.  The Township is renovating the property into a public marina and waterfront park.

The Township is currently in the second phase of the development of Traders Cove.  The second phase consists of installation of utilities, construction of parking areas, installation of curbing and sidewalks, construction of maintenance building, construction of retaining wall and the installation of playground equipment.  The first phase included the replacement of bulkheads and upgrading of marine infrastructure.

“When completed, Traders Cove is going to be one of the best municipal waterfront marina and parks in the State and an asset to the Township,” said Mayor Acropolis.  “Unfortunately, the project’s timetable has been moved back due to delays caused by Council actions.”  Mayor Acropolis says that the Township Council rescinded contracts for certain elements of the second phase that required extensive revisions to the development plan and delayed the project.

The Township also received a grant in the amount of $36,900 from the NJDEP Division of Forestry to pay for tree plantings at Traders Cove.  The development plan calls for nearly 200 trees to be planted at Traders Cove including evergreens, shade trees and street trees.

Posted by Ocean County News on Sep 19 2012. Filed under Brick, Headline News, In the News, Photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.