A carless stretch along the Hudson River has opened to the public after about a year of renovations as Jersey City officials have unveiled a revitalized pedestrian plaza around the Exchange Place PATH Station.
Several local dignitaries, including Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, were on hand to unveil the new Exchange Place Plaza. Jersey Digs was the first outlet to report on images of the overhaul, which ran into a few speed bumps over the design.
The city’s planning board initially rejected the planned changes over the treatment of the Katyn Memorial, which objectors claimed would be obstructed by the renovation. The Exchange Place Alliance (EPA) eventually opened up the view around the monument by adding openings from the street side to give better access to the 34-foot-tall statue.
Designed by Melillo + Bauer + Carman Landscape Architecture, the overhaul includes placemaking signage facing Hudson Street along with new table and seating areas. A new playground just north of J. Owen Grundy Park has been installed, and the aforementioned Katyn Memorial is now surrounded by planting beds and new circular benches.
The renovation also converted a portion of Montgomery Street near the area’s PATH station for pedestrian use only. Two new curb islands were installed along the Christopher Columbus Drive portion of the plaza and landscape pavers have been added in front of the Harborside property.
The entire area around the waterfront entrance to the PATH system received new pavers under the plan, which has been under construction since last fall.
