JCMAN320
June 23rd, 2003, 03:17 PM
JC Bayside plan sees lots of green
Redevelopment plan sees green West Side
Monday, June 23, 2003
By Eddie Hollowell
Journal staff writer
Jersey City could be seeing green - and lots of it.
"Making parks part of everybody's everyday experience" is one of the goals developers have in mind for Jersey City Bayside, formerly dubbed the West Side Development project.
It would represent a complete makeover for the city's western front.
Trees, new parks, grass-lined streets and the extension of Lincoln Park down to the waterfront are just some of the ideas in store for the redevelopment area, running roughly from Communipaw Avenue south to Stevens Avenue and from Bergen Avenue west to the Newark Bay, and will contain 110 acres of open space for parks and plazas.
"This is going to be a green-happy place," said urban planner Anton Nelessen at the final presentation of the project, noting that this is quite possibly the "greenest" redevelopment plan ever proposed for Jersey City.
"Little green parks all over are one of the most extraordinary parts of the urban experience," Nelessen said.
The Jersey City Bayside plan also is "education-based," with two of the biggest contributors to the overhaul being New Jersey City University, which plans to develop its 13-acre west campus, and the Jersey City Board of Education, which will see nearly a dozen additional schools pop up in the area that is expected to contain 36,225 new residents, including 6,000 students.
"There are some real possibilities," said Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr., noting that there will be a significant relationship between the new schools and the university.
"It's just a breath of fresh air to be able to develop education in an urban setting," Epps said.
The first steps of the plan have already been taken by NJCU.
In September, the 250-student University Academy Charter High School will move into the Baldwin Steel Building on West Side Avenue. Also opening that month will be the university's $16 million Center for Fine Arts, which will include a gallery, large studios, individual studios for students enrolled in the master of fine arts program, an auditorium, classrooms, and office space.
"We are thinking boldly about the future," NJCU President Carlos Hernandez said.
Completion of the entire project could take anywhere from 40 to 50 years.
There are many obstacles developers must overcome to make this dream come true, one of the biggest being the contamination of much of the land near the Newark Bay.
"This is one of the most contaminated sites in New Jersey, but with every great challenge there is great potential," said Nelessen, who plans to use the removal of this land to his advantage by building underground parking lots.
"The key goal is to have no more surface parking lots," he said. "The ground has to be taken and shipped off to some site anyway."
The extension of the Light Rail to the waterfront (and possibly one day as far as Newark Liberty International Airport), a new bus line, as well as the addition of a new street - Main Street, which will contain a shopping area in place of what is now the Hudson Mall - are just a few of the ideas developers intend to use in order to lure people into the area.
"A big issue is getting them down to the water and not cutting them off at 440," said Nelessen.
Also proposed is a plan to turn Route 440 into Jackie Robinson Boulevard.
Many residents and business owners who attended the final presentation were in awe of what Jersey City could one day look like.
"They're definitely ahead of the game," said William Diaz, 52, a real estate agent and long-time resident of Jersey City. "It's good that the development will occur within the next 40 or 50 years because a lot of these industries are planning to move out."
Ann McGovern, 64, who has lived in her house on Grant Avenue all her life, was impressed with the city's dream, but concerned that if steps are not immediately taken to solve current problems, the dream may never become a reality.
"Before this can go forward, this area needs to be cleaned up," she said. "I would love to see this happen, but I don't know if any of us in this room will make it to that day."
Another concern expressed was where the funding would come from to pay for the project.
Nelessen hopes to land Green Acres money to pay for much of the "greening," while Epps said plans were already in the works to get state funding for the 11 schools planned.
Robert Cotter, the city planning director, was just happy to see the final redevelopment plan.
"Don't give up faith," he said as many of the public's financial questions were left unanswered. "It will happen and largely because we have a plan. If you don't have a plan, don't expect anything to happen but chaos."
Redevelopment plan sees green West Side
Monday, June 23, 2003
By Eddie Hollowell
Journal staff writer
Jersey City could be seeing green - and lots of it.
"Making parks part of everybody's everyday experience" is one of the goals developers have in mind for Jersey City Bayside, formerly dubbed the West Side Development project.
It would represent a complete makeover for the city's western front.
Trees, new parks, grass-lined streets and the extension of Lincoln Park down to the waterfront are just some of the ideas in store for the redevelopment area, running roughly from Communipaw Avenue south to Stevens Avenue and from Bergen Avenue west to the Newark Bay, and will contain 110 acres of open space for parks and plazas.
"This is going to be a green-happy place," said urban planner Anton Nelessen at the final presentation of the project, noting that this is quite possibly the "greenest" redevelopment plan ever proposed for Jersey City.
"Little green parks all over are one of the most extraordinary parts of the urban experience," Nelessen said.
The Jersey City Bayside plan also is "education-based," with two of the biggest contributors to the overhaul being New Jersey City University, which plans to develop its 13-acre west campus, and the Jersey City Board of Education, which will see nearly a dozen additional schools pop up in the area that is expected to contain 36,225 new residents, including 6,000 students.
"There are some real possibilities," said Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr., noting that there will be a significant relationship between the new schools and the university.
"It's just a breath of fresh air to be able to develop education in an urban setting," Epps said.
The first steps of the plan have already been taken by NJCU.
In September, the 250-student University Academy Charter High School will move into the Baldwin Steel Building on West Side Avenue. Also opening that month will be the university's $16 million Center for Fine Arts, which will include a gallery, large studios, individual studios for students enrolled in the master of fine arts program, an auditorium, classrooms, and office space.
"We are thinking boldly about the future," NJCU President Carlos Hernandez said.
Completion of the entire project could take anywhere from 40 to 50 years.
There are many obstacles developers must overcome to make this dream come true, one of the biggest being the contamination of much of the land near the Newark Bay.
"This is one of the most contaminated sites in New Jersey, but with every great challenge there is great potential," said Nelessen, who plans to use the removal of this land to his advantage by building underground parking lots.
"The key goal is to have no more surface parking lots," he said. "The ground has to be taken and shipped off to some site anyway."
The extension of the Light Rail to the waterfront (and possibly one day as far as Newark Liberty International Airport), a new bus line, as well as the addition of a new street - Main Street, which will contain a shopping area in place of what is now the Hudson Mall - are just a few of the ideas developers intend to use in order to lure people into the area.
"A big issue is getting them down to the water and not cutting them off at 440," said Nelessen.
Also proposed is a plan to turn Route 440 into Jackie Robinson Boulevard.
Many residents and business owners who attended the final presentation were in awe of what Jersey City could one day look like.
"They're definitely ahead of the game," said William Diaz, 52, a real estate agent and long-time resident of Jersey City. "It's good that the development will occur within the next 40 or 50 years because a lot of these industries are planning to move out."
Ann McGovern, 64, who has lived in her house on Grant Avenue all her life, was impressed with the city's dream, but concerned that if steps are not immediately taken to solve current problems, the dream may never become a reality.
"Before this can go forward, this area needs to be cleaned up," she said. "I would love to see this happen, but I don't know if any of us in this room will make it to that day."
Another concern expressed was where the funding would come from to pay for the project.
Nelessen hopes to land Green Acres money to pay for much of the "greening," while Epps said plans were already in the works to get state funding for the 11 schools planned.
Robert Cotter, the city planning director, was just happy to see the final redevelopment plan.
"Don't give up faith," he said as many of the public's financial questions were left unanswered. "It will happen and largely because we have a plan. If you don't have a plan, don't expect anything to happen but chaos."