Construction is ramping up at one of New Jersey’s most significant public-private partnership developments as a transit hub that dates back over a century is undergoing massive renovation.
After years of false starts and failed proposals, an endeavor called Hoboken Connect emerged in 2022. The plan, a public-private partnership between NJ TRANSIT, Philadelphia-based developer LCOR, and Hoboken, sought to revitalize Hoboken Terminal while developing underutilized properties around the facility’s rail yards.
Heavy construction started this month on the renovation of the terminal, which aims to revamp the building along with Warrington Plaza. The end product is slated to include amenities like an outdoor market space plus the restoration of the terminal’s second floor, which has been closed to the public for decades.
LCOR will be raising the level of the plaza to assist with flooding as part of the work and the neighboring cobblestone portion of Hudson Place will eventually be converted into a pedestrian plaza under the plan.
Construction crews are currently hard at work on the terminal’s western facing exterior, where copper has been removed to stabilize the building. Other work ongoing at the property includes test pitting and excavation, pile driving, new storm lines, and new lighting installations.
Work on the Warrington Plaza portion is expected to last through October, but all of the terminal’s transportation including the PATH, NJ Transit, NY Waterway ferries, and Light Rail service will still be accessible during the construction.
The first phase of Hoboken Connect’s new development is also underway. A 27-story residential building called Charlie broke ground earlier this year but hasn’t quite gone vertical yet.
That component is set to include 386 residential units, with 78 of those residences to be set aside as affordable housing. Other components of the tower include 1,221 square feet of ground-floor retail space and a plethora of amenities for future tenants.
A 20-story office building on a site directly next to the street entrance to the PATH trains is also part of the Hoboken Connect project, and a vacant brick building that had stood at the site has already been torn down. That 635,000 square-foot building will also include ground-floor retail space, but that component will be built after Charlie is completed.
The team behind Hoboken Connect recently added some 360-degree views and new images on their website of what the landscape around the terminal is slated to look like. The development is anticipated to take several years, with no firm completion date yet announced.
