Hoboken’s only higher education campus will soon be getting another major redevelopment effort as officials have signed off on a plan to revamp a modest dormitory property at Stevens Institute of Technology.
During their June 9 meeting, Hoboken’s Planning Board greenlit an application to demolish Davis Hall. The property, situated located along the easterly edge of the campus on Castle Point, consists of a four-story brick building and is just down the block from the recently completed Student Center.
Jersey Digs broke the news about the project almost two years ago. The development is part of an ongoing upward expansion at the institute since Hoboken revamped zoning regulations on the campus back in 2018.
Designed by New York City-based Davis Brody Bond, plans for the future Davis Hall mirror the Student Center effort. The existing building will be demolished and replaced with a new thirteen-story, 238,000-square-foot mixed-use building containing academic and research facilities as well as student housing.
The first three levels, as well as a partially below-grade lower level, will comprise classrooms, teaching labs, and offices. The third level will also feature a green roof deck space along Wittpenn Walk, providing green infrastructure that will minimize stormwater runoff with native and adapted vegetation.
Levels four through six will include dry laboratory and research rooms, offices, and similar lobby and study/gathering areas. The remainder of the complex will serve as dormitories, which Stevens says will create a total of 457 new beds for student housing and help realize their goal of providing on-campus housing for all enrollees who request it.
Given the demolition of the current Davis Hall, the application states that the project will achieve a net gain of 245 beds in on-campus student housing. The proposed roof of the building will include an elevated solar canopy installation, providing the building with enhanced energy and space efficiency.
No parking is included in the plan, as vehicle access on the Stevens campus is already limited. The development will maintain and enhance the pedestrian-oriented design of the Wittpenn Walk as part of the work.
The approved application for the property did not require any variances from the Planning Board, as it complies with existing zoning regulations. A possible groundbreaking date for the development has not been announced, but a 2024 annual report from the institute stated its intention to have the Davis Hall replacement project completed by 2032.
