Paterson’s new Great Falls Recreation Center is being built at 54 Front Street beside the existing Great Falls Youth Center at 52 Front Street. The New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC) and the City of Paterson are planning a full-size gym, performance and arts space, STEM and digital-media facilities, entrepreneurship support and college-access programs. Youth activities have moved temporarily to 59 Spruce Street for the 2026–27 school year while construction advances.
What is being built at 54 Front Street?
The Great Falls Recreation Center is an expansion of an established youth-serving campus, not a replacement for the existing 52 Front Street building. NJCDC’s plans combine recreation with academic, creative and career-oriented programming in one indoor facility.
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- A full-size gymnasium for sports and physical activity
- A performance space and performing-arts theater
- A STEM makerspace
- E-gaming and animation areas
- Training space for youth and community programs
- An entrepreneurial suite
- College-access resources
- Food-related uses described in NJCDC’s neighborhood-summit materials
How it expands the existing youth center
NJCDC rehabilitated the 52 Front Street building into the Great Falls Youth Center in 2018. The center now serves almost 100 students each day. Its free after-school program for Paterson teens includes homework help, games, culinary activities, a computer lab, music and recording space. A 2023 expansion added a podcast studio, gaming suite and multipurpose space.
Construction status and timeline
- January 2026: NJCDC reported that demolition had begun at the long-unused structure at 54 Front Street, describing the work as preparation for the Great Falls Recreation Center.
- September 2026: NJCDC said youth programming was operating temporarily at 59 Spruce Street during the 2026–27 school year.
- October 12, 2026: William Paterson University announced that NJCDC planned a groundbreaking ceremony for October 16, 2026.
The available announcements do not publish a final construction-completion date or a confirmed date when the public will be able to use the new building. The October 16 groundbreaking was announced in advance; the cited announcement does not confirm the ceremony’s outcome or establish an opening schedule.
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Where programs are operating during construction
Students have not been left without services. NJCDC’s temporary location at 59 Spruce Street is hosting programming for the 2026–27 school year while work proceeds at 54 Front Street. The established Great Falls Youth Center model is free for Paterson teens, but NJCDC has not published a fee schedule for programs in the future recreation center.
Funding documented in public records
Several public records identify support for the Great Falls campus and related youth-center work. They cover different phases and should not be added together as though they were a single final project budget.
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| Record and date | Amount | What the record establishes |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey 2025 appropriations measure | $10 million | NJCDC community projects in Paterson, with at least $4 million directed to the Great Falls Youth Center at 52 Front Street. |
| HUD/City of Paterson CDBG performance report, 2025 | $450,000 | Earlier 52 Front Street Youth Center Expansion Project: a 1,500-square-foot rear addition, a 1,500-square-foot rooftop outdoor programming area and a 1,400-square-foot multipurpose building. The report records completion on September 23, 2024. |
| Senate Bill 4455, introduced June 15, 2026 | $2 million proposed transfer; $5.13 million cited as FY2025 state appropriation | The bill proposes moving an unspent FY2025 Paterson recreation-center capital balance to NJCDC for a youth-center project. Its figures are legislative claims and proposed or appropriated amounts, not a published final construction budget. |
No cited document states the project’s final all-in cost, including design, construction, equipment and operating expenses. The funding records therefore show public commitments and earlier completed work, but not a definitive price tag for the new 54 Front Street building.
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College access is part of the new facility
William Paterson University announced a partnership with NJCDC to create William Paterson University College Central inside the new youth recreation center. The planned space is intended to provide programs for Paterson students preparing to attend college, adding advising and college-planning support to the building’s recreation, arts and technology uses.
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Why the project matters to Paterson families
The center is designed around the hours and needs that often fall between school dismissal and home: a dependable place to exercise, learn, make things, create media, meet mentors and plan for work or college. NJCDC CEO Bob Guarasci described that broader purpose this way: “Young people need great teachers and schools, but they also need safe places to go after school, families with access to support, and a community that believes in what they can become.”
That combination distinguishes the planned facility from a gym-only project. Its gym and performance areas address recreation and physical activity, while the makerspace, animation and e-gaming areas support digital creativity; the entrepreneurial suite and College Central are aimed at longer-term education and career pathways.
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What prospective users still need to know
- Opening date: No confirmed public opening date has been published.
- Final cost: Public records cited for the project do not establish a final all-in construction budget.
- Program fees: The existing Great Falls Youth Center is free for Paterson teens; future recreation-center fees have not been stated.
- Access details: Hours, registration procedures, transportation information and accessibility features for the new building have not yet been published in the cited announcements.
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