Carteret, NJ – Mayor Dan Reiman and the Borough Council were joined today by hundreds of local residents, for a groundbreaking ceremony making way for Carteret’s highly anticipated “Health and Wellness Center.”
The project, first announced in 2007, will establish a 36,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art fitness facility, housing a range of resources for health and recreation, along with a number of social amenities. This will be the only such facility in the Borough, and the first of its kind in the town’s history.
To date, approximately $11.1 million has been raised for the fitness center through various grants, private endowments, and Developer Impact fees generated by local businesses and litigation settlements. Additional funding is being actively sought from regional businesses and private donors, according to Reiman. Total cost for the facility has been estimated at $12-14 million, which the Mayor and Redevelopment Agency expect to have earmarked by the project’s completion in 2010.
“This is not a singular event that we hosted here today,” Mayor Reiman commented. “The immediate value of this project to the community is clear, but it will also have an enormous impact on our business community, and draw attention to our multi-faceted Civic Center complex. This is one of many projects that will play an influential part in redefining our town.”
The Wellness Center first received recognition from Middlesex County in 2007, which provided $3 million in Open Space funding towards the center’s junior Olympic sized swimming pool to be housed in a 7,000 square foot aquatics center. The pool along with the facility’s many other amenities will be tailored to meet a wide variety of health, fitness, and recreational needs, according to Borough officials, and will allow for programs that will benefit different age groups.
Additional features include cardiovascular and weight rooms, aerobics studios, a multi-purpose sports room, physical therapy facilities, a daycare center, and a health food café.
“This has become an extremely active community which deserves suitable resources for active lifestyles.” Mayor Reiman said. “Our representatives at the County and State levels have recognized this project’s importance to the community, and have enabled us to cross the threshold into its planning stages by providing initial funding.”
Construction of the Carteret Health and Wellness Center will begin this week, with its completion projected for late 2010.
