Jets Stadium Plan Unveiled

After years of discussion and planning, New York City and State officials unveiled a $2.8 billion plan to turn Manhattan's West Side into a "convention corridor" with an expanded Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and a new stadium for the New York Jets.

Under the plan, the convention center would be expanded south to 33rd Street and north to 42nd Street in two phases. A 1,500-room headquarters hotel would also be constructed. The plans also calls for building multi-purpose facility called the New York Sports and Convention Center which would serve as a 75,000-seat stadium and a 200,000-sq.-ft. exhibit hall. The stadium would be home to the New York Jets football team and could be used for the 2012 Olympic Games if New York is selected as a host city. The project would create thousands of new construction jobs.

The city is hoping to begin construction next year, but the project faces opposition from neighborhood groups and others. Some have argued that additional traffic attracted by the stadium will clog local streets and others have criticized the city's plan to commit $600 million in public funding for the project.

STV Designing School Expansion

The New Jersey School Construction Corporation has selected STV Architects to provide complete architectural and engineering design services for an $18 million renovation and expansion of P.S. 14 elementary school in Jersey City, N.J.

The project calls for the complete renovation of the school's existing 100,000-sq.-ft. building as well as the design of a new 20,000-sq.-ft., 3-story addition that will contain many of the school's core support spaces, including food services, a gymnasium, art and music rooms and a media center. Some of these spaces will also serve the community after school hours, when they will be closed off from the rest of the school. Project design will continue through 2004, with construction to begin in 2005.

Veteran Cemetery Being Designed

Gloucester County has retained Schoor DePalma to design the site work for the new Gloucester County Veteran's Memorial Cemetery in Monroe Township, N.J.

The design of Phase I, approximately 15 to 20 acres of the overall project, will provide the foundation for the entire cemetery site and will be completed in concert with the LA Group, a landscape and engineering firm specializing in cemetery design.

Phase I of the project was expected to be completed May 2004 with the following phases to continue until final completion in 2007. At completion, the cemetery is expected to hold approximately 19,700 gravesites and will be restricted to only Gloucester County Veterans, their wives, and dependent children.

Minno & Wasko Wins Award

Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners in Lambertville, N.J. won a gold award from the 2004 National Association of Home Builders Best of Seniors Housing Design Awards for its clubhouse design for The Regency at Monroe.

Each year, a 12-member panel of architects, designers and builders honor the nation's best senior housing designs on how effectively the projects respond to the demands and need of the burgeoning 55 plus market.