Hoboken, as we know, is a vibrant suburb of New York City, known for its stunning view of the skyline, beautiful brownstones, and historic Washington Street. But for years, the transit hub of Hoboken, Hoboken Yards, has remained undeveloped. Talks about improving this area go as far back as 1980, but in February of 2007, the city formally recognized that Hoboken Yards required serious maintenance and improvement. After a few years of design plans and intense collaboration, in December of 2014, the Hoboken Yard Redevelopment Plan was formally adopted.
Originally, the plan was meant to bolster the Hoboken Terminal and Observer Highway. The area was meant to contain nine redevelopment sites that culminated to a full 2.3 million square feet comprised of three distinct sections: the terminal district, the commercial district, and the residential district. Each district was meant to house buildings, varying from 50 feet to 330 feet. However, Governor Phil Murphy’s administration introduced a flood wall in Hoboken to reduce flooding in the city and allow the NJ Transit system that sits close to the coast to remain functional. Unfortunately, the flood wall plans clashed with the area designated for the redevelopment plan. For these reasons, major amendments to the project had to be made.
On January 22, 2020, a city council meeting was held with hopes of voting on the plan. However, since many amendments were made, city planner Jessica Giorgianni outlined the alterations to the plan and residents of Hoboken had their questions answered by her and other city council members. Instead of nine separate sites, the plan now consists of three. The primary focus of the plan is now to redevelop and activate Warrington Plaza and the Ferry Terminal Building. Although the city council of Hoboken is shaping this project, the plan itself will not be executed by the city. First, the plan must be approved and handed off to the mayor, who will negotiate this project with a developer. LCOR, the private developer which will tackle and finance the project, will make plans to meet the regulatory standards. It was stated that this step in the process will take at least another year.
Other than the general enhancement of the area, the redevelopment plan poses many potential benefits to Hoboken and its citizens. The buildings and office spaces can be used to attract new businesses, thereby improving productivity and improving the city’s economy. Additionally, developing this area will diversify Hoboken’s tax base. Furthermore, due to this plan, the city’s designated affordable housing will increase from 10% to 20%, allowing Hoboken to become more inclusive. While the addition of new housing to Hoboken may seem positive, many residents were against the idea to prevent overcrowding in an already dense city. For the past 20 years, the population of Hoboken has steadily grown to reach about 55,000 people, so homeowners and renters were hesitant about more residential sites. Other residents were concerned about the area being a bigger burden to the police and fire departments of Hoboken. Despite these doubts, many are happier with the revised 2020 redevelopment plan because the city took into account many of their grievances.
So what does this mean for Stevens? According to Beth McGrath, the Vice President for Government and Community Relations and Chief of Staff here at Stevens, “At this stage of the process, it’s difficult to answer this question.” The start date of the project still remains ambiguous to both residents and the city council. However, the Hoboken Yard could potentially become a space where students can relax and enjoy some time near the waterfront. Further updates on the redevelopment process can hopefully give us more clarity.
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