JMT and Community Partners Celebrate Opening of Old Paper Mill Road Park in Newark, DE
Photo Courtesy of Newark Post.
In November, JMT celebrated the long-awaited opening of Old Paper Mill Road Park alongside the Newark, DE, Department of Parks and Recreation and other Newark community members. “What you see here today is a testament to the city’s dedication to providing top-notch recreation facilities that bring to life the ideas and wishes shared by Newark’s residents,” said JMT landscape architect Andy Mears.
While master planning for the park originally began in 2011 in conjunction with two other park projects, the Old Paper Mill Road Park was delayed due to a lack of funding after the other parks were completed. The original design included a skate park as well as basketball and tennis courts. While the Old Paper Mill Road Park project was on hold, the city built these amenities elsewhere.
In 2021, new funds from the American Rescue Plan Act allowed the city to revisit and reimagine the Old Paper Mill Road Park project, with JMT serving as lead designer.
Our design team reevaluated Newark’s recreation needs and trends to determine which amenities would most benefit the community. JMT also held community workshops to get feedback on the design during development. Based on these efforts, the team redesigned the park to include a multipurpose field and dedicated courts for volleyball and pickleball, a sport that has been rapidly growing in popularity nationwide. Additionally, the team incorporated a plaza area and pavilion for events, as well as walking/biking trails and new permanent parking and bike racks to accommodate visitors to this and other nearby parks.
“These improvements make Old Paper Mill Road Park one of Newark’s premier destinations,” said Paula Ennis, director of Newark’s Department of Parks and Recreation.
Our work on this project stemmed from an existing relationship with Newark’s city government through an open-ended water/wastewater contract. Through this initial relationship, JMT collaborated with the city to develop Hillside Park, a stormwater management and recreation project that significantly reduced flooding in the area and provided the community with exciting new recreational options. Our successes at Hillside Park and our growing relationship with the city have led to more opportunities to work on site design and landscape architecture projects in Newark, including a walking/jogging path at George Read Park, a master plan for Edna C. Dickey Park, and the redesign of Old Paper Mill Road Park.
We’re grateful to the City of Newark for the opportunity to partner on this project. Our involvement reflects our team’s commitment to strong collaboration, thoughtful design, and delivering solutions that support our clients’ goals and communities.