Ewing Mayor Bert Steinmann and members of Township Council joined with state and county officials to celebrate the receipt of $5 million for the reconstruction of the Ewing Senior and Community Center.
A large portion of the center was razed by a fire in September.
“We’re very grateful today to be here,” said Steinmann to the assembled crowd at the Aug. 14 event. “Now, I have to be honest with you, I’d rather not be standing here today. I’d rather be standing in front of a building that’s still functional. Unfortunately, we’re not at that point now, but we are well on the way for reconstruction as we go on.”
Township officials have said that Ewing has already raised some $10 million towards the project—about half the estimated price tag. The township plans to fund the reconstruction through insurance, government grants, and donations from the local corporate community.
In addition to the presentation of a ceremonial $5 million check, the event also featured architectural drawings of the new building by DIGroup, the New Brunswick-based firm that the township is working on with the process. (See image on page 9.) DIG was represented at the event by President Vince Meyers, a Ewing resident.
The company, which was named as firm of the year by the American Institute of Architects-New Jersey Chapter, has worked on a number of civic and community projects including the Vineland Police Department building, the Union County Goverment Complex and the Remsen Firehouse Visitor Center.
Steinmann said the project is being designed with the history of the site in mind. The property was previously the Trenton Jewish Community Center and featured historic bath houses designed by famous architect Louis Kahn. The bath houses were not impacted by the fire.
Steinmann has said that none of the building itself is historic, so the town doesn’t have to worry about regulations governing historic properties while rebuilding.
The renderings presented at the event showed several views of the planned outside of the building. Steinmann said they are still working on the design for the interior. “We’re having that discussions with some various partners that we have as to how we proceed to move forward,” the mayor said. “We are still working on the interior of the building as to exactly what is going to be inside, and we’re having those discussions with various partners as to how we proceed.”
“As you can see, some demolition is taking place, but now the real stuff starts taking place,” said Council Vice President Kevin Baxter.
“As far as the fiduciary end of the project, we’re concerned, because although we have $5 million here, it’s going to take a little more to get this thing up and going,” Baxter said. “So we have to be very responsible about your tax dollars, which we hear every day.”
The $5 million was added to the 2023 state budget after township officials requested funding from state Senator Shirley Turner and assembly members and, all of whom were present at the ceremony. Also at the event were council members and Sarah Steward.
Said Turner: “We know how important a senior citizen and community center is to every community, but particularly here in Ewing Township, because so much used to happen in this building,” said Turner. “It was a hub of the community and our senior citizens, our special needs community, as well as our youth, participated in so many activities in this center.”
She also credited Steinmann with his perseverance in seeking funding for the project.
“Mayor, I have to say, you are the most important person who’s here today, not us, because you were the strongest advocate for this center and to get this funding,” Turner said. “You came to all of us, the three of us, and you impressed upon us the need to help in rebuilding this center.”
She said that Steinmann not only appealed to them, he also went to the statehouse in Trenton and testified before the Budget Committee.
“It’s a partnership,” she said. “It’s all levels of government working together to provide the needs of all of our communities.”
The ESCC suffered significant damage in an early-morning fire on Sept. 30. The five-alarm blaze destroyed the gymnasium and damaged other parts of the ESCC, rendering the facility unusable.
Firefighters were first dispatched to the center, located on Lower Ferry Road, at about 3 a.m. on a report of an activated fire alarm. They arrived to find the gymnasium, located in the center of the building, fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters and emergency services were called in from a number of neighboring municipalities to assist Ewing Township fire companies before the fire was finally declared under control several hours later. The fire, which caused a partial roof collapse, started in the gym.
The ESCC and outdoor facilities at the center remain closed, and most programs and offices, including Community Affairs and Recreation and the Senior Office, have been relocated to the Hollowbrook Community Center at 320 Hollowbrook Drive.
“At the end of the day, we have to build a building not only for today, not only for tomorrow, but for the very foreseeable future,” said Steinmann as he closed out the event. “As the councilman (Baxter) alluded to, it’s going to cost dollars, to be sure. That’s why I have been such a great advocate of chasing every dollar that I possibly can get to minimize the impact on the taxpayers of this town.
“I think we’re going to get there. I really do, but we need partners to do that. We’ve solicited with some of those partners, and I’m sure they’ll be many, many more to come.”
“My commitment is to rebuild it and rebuild it better than it was,” Steinmann has said. “We’re leaning on the insurance companies heavily to get this going.”
An architectural rendering of the reconstructed Ewing Senior and Community Center. The image was shown at an event on Aug. 14, 2023 conducted to celebrate the receipt of $5 million from the state towards the project.,
