Hackensack suspends APS contract for Johnson Park Sports Complex, council seeks community input and alternative uses

The City of Hackensack Mayor and Council voted Aug. 4 to suspend for convenience the Jan. 8, 2025 contract with APS Contracting Inc. for the Johnson Park Sports Complex, citing rising aggregate project costs and a desire to solicit community feedback on alternative uses for the site.

Resolution No. 321-25, approved by roll call (Deputy Mayor Toomey, Councilwoman Clark Collins, Councilman Carroll, Councilman Diaz and Mayor Gaines voting aye), suspends the AIA A101-2017 standard form agreement between the city and APS Contracting Inc. and incorporates the AIA A201-2017 general conditions (section 14.3) authorizing the owner to suspend work. The resolution instructs the city manager, staff and city professionals to take steps necessary to implement the suspension.

Resolution text and council comments summarized project history and cost changes: the Johnson Park Sports Complex was announced in 2016 with an initial projected cost of $7,000,000 and a 2018 anticipated completion date. The contract with APS, executed 01/08/2025, was for $10,430,000; a subsequent change order (Change Order No. 1) increased the contract by $1,552,224.13, bringing the adjusted contract amount to $11,982,224.13. The resolution states the aggregate project cost is anticipated to exceed $40,000,000 by completion. A notice to proceed was issued on or about Feb. 21, 2025, but the contractor had not mobilized the site as of the meeting.

Kevin Boswell of Boswell Engineering presented the Johnson Park master plan and the staff recommendation related to the suspension. Boswell said the council action suspends work on a proposed 75,000-square-foot building at the north portion of the property while the south portion remains planned as an outdoor turf field with tennis and pickleball courts. He described work already completed to raise grades and import select material for parking (approximately 250 spaces) and said the city would initially stabilize the area where the building would have been by capping with topsoil and seed pending a policy decision by the council.

Boswell said the stabilization would be coordinated with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and characterized the change — from building footprint to an outdoor use with equivalent minimum first-floor elevation — as a de minimis permitting change, subject to DEP review. He noted outstanding coordination on site lighting and utilities with the city’s engineering department, Public Service and Veolia.

During the public-comment portion of the meeting, several residents reacted to the suspension and broader project concerns. Sir J. Tolstoy told the council the suspension was welcome and described the dome project as “a taxpayer wheelbarrow of money.” Vicky Farhi, who said she chaired the recreation board when a soccer field was built at Johnson Park, asked whether an active soccer field would remain. Gary Westlake asked that the city prioritize restoring the fence and beds at a community garden affected by recent grading.

Council members said they plan to solicit community feedback on alternative recreational options and emphasized a desire to make the project less costly and more broadly beneficial to the city. Boswell and staff described a pathway to stabilize the site while the council considers next steps; staff indicated remaining permitting steps and utility coordination would be addressed during the suspension.

Ending: The suspension directs staff to implement the resolution and begins a period during which the council will solicit community input, clarify design and permitting details with professional staff and the DEP, and consider alternative uses for the site before recalling or reauthorizing construction activity.