State Grant Kicks off ESCC Rebuilding Fund

Ewing Senior and Community Center Update

On Monday, August 7^th Ewing Township Mayor Bert Steinmann, accompanied by Councilman Kevin Baxter, accepted a $5M grant from the State of New Jersey towards the rehabilitation of the Ewing Senior and Community Center on Lower Ferry Road which was destroyed during a fire in September of 2022.  Special thanks go to Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblyman Anthony S. Verrelli, and Senator Shirley Turner for their hard work and advocacy in obtaining this grant.  A brief presentation was followed by a small reception with food provided by Arc Mercer.

Earlier this year Mayor Steinmann testified before the State Budget Committee to request grant aid and was successful in obtaining the $5M. 

While the new building is still in the planning stage, there are plans to knock down the old building beginning after Labor Day.  The demolition could be time consuming as asbestos remediation is also needed.  A new building is in the works that will replace the approximately 32,000 sq. ft. building with a new one.   The new center must fit within a limited 2-acre footprint on the site dictated by Green Acres requirements.  We anticipate it will fill both current and long-range needs with a proposed size of 66,000 sq. ft.  Ewing’s new community center will house many of the same nonprofits that were housed there prior to its destruction including agencies that help with cope with children’s bullying, senior services for special needs, community gathering space, as well as Township sponsored senior and community activities.  It is expected that the rebuilding process will take from 18 months to 2 years to complete. 

Final costs for the new facility have only been approximated, as well as the final design, both of which will depend upon monies received in support of the rebuild.  Township officials are estimating as much as $43M in costs to rebuild the center pending Council approval and are attempting to raise some of the necessary funds.  The Township is anticipating approximately $1M in HUD funding, with anywhere from $18 to $25M in an insurance payout, plus the $5 million grant from the state.  This will fund approximately $31M of the total anticipated costs for the rebuild.  The balance will be financed when our debt service has been greatly reduced within the next couple of years. 

Architect Vince Myers from Ewing is designing the plan. Green features include LED lighting throughout.  A green roof with low vegetation will help to reduce runoff, improve energy efficiency, reduce our carbon footprint by limiting the need for air conditioning in the summer and locking heat inside in the colder months, improve the overall air quality, and finally, that support a variety of wildlife habitats, is also planned. 

Additional amenities to look forward to include an elevated walking track around the gym on the upper level, a black box theatre, a potential sound room, expanded men’s and women’s locker rooms, a senior gymnasium for cardio, a couple of weight rooms, as well as a martial arts and dance studio.

We would also be remiss if we did not acknowledge the very welcome assistance from a number of community partners such as the State of NJ (Katzenbach School), TCNJ, the Ewing School System, and Hamilton Township which have all stepped up to help and enabled us to continue our programming on a temporary basis.  They have provided a home for summer camps (Fisher School), indoor basketball (Katzenbach School, State of NJ), pool facilities for our Pool Sharks (TCNJ and Hamilton Township) and more. 

Please be on the lookout for notice of a full public presentation on building plans from Mayor Steinmann sometime in October at the Hollowbrook Community Center.