Plans for Hoboken Connect call for enhancing the area around Hoboken Terminal with uses including a 635,000-square-foot office tower, a 389-unit residential building, open space, infrastructure upgrades and a renovation of the transit hub. — Renderings courtesy: LCOR
By Joshua Burd
The long-awaited plan to improve Hoboken Terminal and build new apartments, office space and public amenities nearby took a key step forward this week with the city’s approval of a redevelopment agreement with LCOR, the firm that is spearheading the project.
The Hoboken City Council on Wednesday approved the agreement for what will be known as Hoboken Connect, which would translate to hundreds of millions of dollars in private and public investment. The council vote, which was hailed by NJ Transit and Gov. Phil Murphy’s office, keeps the development on pace to break ground as soon as next year, following more than 15 years of delays and efforts to adapt the plan to several key challenges.
“The Murphy administration is focused on strengthening our state from the inside out,” Acting Gov. Sheila Oliver said Thursday while praising the vote. “We look forward to all the benefits the redevelopment project will bring to the Hoboken community and broader region.”
Plans for the site include a CetraRuddy-designed, 389-unit residential building on Observer Highway, across from the Bloomfield Street and Washington Street intersections, with 20 percent of the homes designated for lower-income renters. The project also calls for a 20-story, 635,000-square-foot office tower at the corner of Hudson Street and Hudson Place, with ground-floor retail space, that will allow employees to be steps from the terminal and PATH station entrances.
Equally notable will be a sweeping overhaul of the historic Hoboken Terminal, which includes raising the easternmost plaza to protect against flooding from the Hudson River, as well as a plan to restore and activate the long-dormant ferry terminal building at the site with public-facing uses such as a food hall and event space. Other plans include pedestrian, vehicular and bicycle improvements, including construction of a new bus terminal on Hudson Place and the redevelopment of Warrington Plaza.
SLIDESHOW: Hoboken Connect
“At the start of planning for Hoboken Connect, we aligned with the city and our partners on our goals for this redevelopment, which included reactivating a historic, treasured gateway to Hoboken while driving economic development opportunities, investing in NJ Transit infrastructure and creating inviting and inclusive public spaces,” said Brian Barry, a senior vice president at LCOR. “We’re incredibly grateful to the public partners who have played an invaluable role in bringing Hoboken Connect to life, including the state of New Jersey for their strategic investment in public infrastructure funding, the city of Hoboken for undertaking such a thoughtful and thorough review of the project and NJ Transit for their hands-on approach in helping to guide this multiyear process. We’re looking forward to our continued engagement with the community over the coming years and look forward to breaking ground on the project in the near future.”
In an announcement Thursday, Murphy’s office said the governor has committed $176 million in the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget for the public improvement phase of Hoboken Connect.
“The state’s multimillion-dollar investment into our community will be transformational at this historic gateway into our city’s downtown,” Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla said. “Through the private phase of this crucial project, the city will also be able to increase its affordable housing stock with a landmark 20 percent set aside through the construction of new residential units. Thank you to Gov. Phil Murphy and Sen. Brian Stack, as well as Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro and Assemblyman Raj Mukherji for their commitment to this project.”
Wednesday’s vote came four months after LCOR presented an updated plan to city residents and other stakeholders, seeking to advance a project that has grappled with concerns about its design and the need for resiliency measures, which have brought additional layers of complexity. The developer and NJ Transit have also had to coordinate with a long list of public entities at the historic multimodal property, but took a key step forward last summer when it unveiled a team of design, construction and leasing professionals for the project.
Construction is slated to take place over the next five years, directly and indirectly supporting 15,290 permanent jobs and $234 million in tax revenue annually upon completion, according to a news release. The city of Hoboken will see 4,433 jobs on site with $9.6 million in annual retail spending and $4.5 million in annual revenue, NJ Transit said, while the agency will benefit from substantial ground lease payments, increased ridership and customer experience improvements.
The project is also slated to create more than 9,800 construction jobs.
“We are grateful for Gov. Murphy’s substantial financial commitment for these improvements to the rail, bus and ferry facilities at Hoboken Terminal. This will greatly benefit the millions of NJ Transit, PATH and NY Waterway customers who rely on this vital, intermodal transportation hub every year,” NJ Transit CEO and President Kevin S. Corbett said. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Hoboken and LCOR to bring this project to life and restoring Hoboken Terminal to be the crown jewel of our transit system.”
LCOR, NJ Transit seek to reopen historic ferry building as part of high-profile Hoboken project
