A modern courthouse facility that will pave the way for a massive new neighborhood park is in the home stretch as work on the Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex is in the final stages.
Jersey Digs was the first outlet to reveal renderings of the massive project back in 2020 after it was approved by the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders (now known as Board of Commissioners).
The effort is replacing Hudson County’s outdated Administration Building at 595 Newark Street with a new five-story structure across the street that New York City-based Rafael Viñoly Architects designed.
The five-story complex, which will be certified LEED Silver, will include a 75-seat public food court, a self-help law library, a children’s play area, training spaces, and a 459-space parking garage built into the design.
Work on much of the exterior is mostly completed, with a total of almost 6,000 tons of steel and 25,000 cubic yards of concrete being used during the construction. The first phase of the project eliminated Cook Street and realigned several local roads to allow Central Avenue to extend and connect with Newark Avenue.
Signage is currently being put up throughout the building, which will boast an elevated lawn and some landscaping to spruce up the streetscape. The complex will complement the historic Brennan Courthouse, which is slated to get a new recreational neighbor in the coming years.
As part of the new courthouse deal announced in 2019, the current Administration Building will be transformed into a 3.4-acre park. Jersey City revealed some preliminary plans earlier this year, which they hope to finalize as early as next month.
The area around the courthouse has become the fastest-growing section of Jersey City and perhaps even the entire state. Thousands of new residents are set to call Journal Square home in the coming years, and several smaller buildings and storefronts along Newark Avenue have finally begun renovations.
