Former Miller’s Trailer Park Transforming Into Recreation Area

The three-acre site that formerly was home to Miller’s Trailer Park at Cedar and Main avenues in Croydon will be redeveloped into a recreation area.

This week, Bristol Township was awarded a $240,000 Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development grant that will help fund creation of the park. The total cost to construct the new park will be $700,000, according to information released by Bristol Township.

The future use for the site is described as a “passive recreational park.” Township officials said the new Cedar Avenue Park will include “attractive landscaping and shady trees, a paved trail, and a welcoming entry wall and walkway at the entranceway to the park.”

“Community parks are vital to ensure a high quality of life for children and families in our community,” said Bristol Township Council President Craig Bowen. “This grant funding allows us to transform what was once a neighborhood eyesore into a beautiful green space that young people and families can go to daily to walk, run, or take in the scenery.”

State officials who had a role in the township obtaining the grant offered comment on the new park.

“Any time the opportunity exists for a community to take a dilapidated eyesore and turn it into a beautiful park and a model of conservation, we must work together to seize it,” State Rep. Tina Davis said. “I’m proud to have worked alongside Sen. Tomlinson to do just that. This project will increase the quality of life in Bristol Township, and I look forward to the outcome.”

“This is a great opportunity to transform an abandoned property into an area that residents can use for a variety of recreational purposes. I’m pleased that Bristol Township has been proactive in seeking funding for this upgrade, which will provide more open space, contribute to a better quality of life, and make excellent use of the current land,” State Sen. Tommy Tomlinson said.

Township officials said work on the park is expected to begin next summer and will be finished by fall.

“Next year, we will have another jewel in the crown and the updated version of, “A Tree Grows in Croydon,” Bowen said.

Bristol Township purchased the unkempt three-acre lot from a private developer using $663,000 from a federal grant in 2016 with the goal of turning it into a park. The site had become strewn with weeds, brush and various types of waste since a private developer removed the remains of the shuttered 50-year-old Miller’s Trailer Park in late 2007.

Township officials have been mentioning purchasing the old mobile home park since at least 2008, according to meeting minutes.

The Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County assisted in remediation of pollutants from the site last year.

Shortly before Miller’s Trailer Park was demolished, neighbors rung the alarm that there may have been contamination at the site due to vacant mobile homes being stripped of scrap metal. A newspaper clipping from 2007 notes tests were conducted by state officials and no toxic materials were found.

New Jersey-based Highland Realty Management removed the remains of the closed mobile home park in late 2007 as part of a plan to build nearly 40 townhomes. In 2014, the plans had changed to 23 townhomes that would take the site. However, those plans fell through and the site sat vacant.