At the Mayor and Council meeting on Tuesday August 11th, members of the governing body of Highland Park shared the proud news that the Borough received a grant of $1.5 million from the Middlesex County Open Space, Recreation, and Farmfield and Historic Preservation Trust Fund, to support the development of the Borough Square project in Highland Park on South 3rd Ave.

Highland Park's Borough Square project is designed to provide residents with a permanent, pedestrian oriented space that will serve as a flexible venue for community events, cultural programming, informal recreation, and a permanent location for the Highland Park Farmers' Market. Borough Square will include accessible gathering areas, landscaping, seating, shade elements, and ADA- compliant pathways to ensure that residents and visitors of all ages and abilities can comfortably enjoy the space.

The County grant will be allocated in yearly installments of $500,000 in fiscal year 2026, fiscal year 2027, and fiscal year 2028. The total estimated construction cost of the Borough Square project is $3.74 million. The Borough anticipates completing Borough Square within three years.

In the project proposal, Borough officials state that the idea of creating additional public space on or near Raritan Ave. "has been part of the public discussion in Highland Park for more than 20 years." The idea was raised in the 2003 Master Plan, and advanced in the 2005 Downtown Redevelopment Plan, the 2019 Master Plan Reexamination Report, and the 2021 Downtown Redevelopment Plan for Tracts A, B, C, and D.

For more information on the Borough Square project, contact Teri Jover, Redevelopment Director & Borough Administrator, at (732) 819-3789 or by email at tjover@hpboro.com