N.J. county opens community center in park named for baseball Hall of Fame player

Essex County opened its first community center in Orange this week at a park named after a Hall of Fame baseball player.

The 8,580-square-foot center Monte Irvin Orange Park honors baseball Hall of Fame player and Orange native Monte Irvin.

“When we started our initiative to re-imagine the community centers in our parks, it always was our intention to build a facility in Monte Irvin Orange Park which never offered its visitors a place to hold indoor programs,” County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. said in a statement. “This building is an attractive space and meets the needs of the residents for generations to come.”

The center features a 5,000-square-foot multi-purpose room, warming kitchen, police substation space, office area, and storage.

Restrooms are accessible from both insi