New Master Plan for Hoboken Terminal Project

New Jersey Transit selects a design and development team for its new master plan. Also, AIA's New York chapter recognizes local firms and projects.

Hoboken Terminal Restoration Master Plan Moves Ahead

New Jersey Transit started design work last fall on a master plan for the 65-acre Hoboken Terminal and Yard complex in Hoboken, N.J., and began a restoration of the site's nearly 100-year-old ferry terminal.

LCOR, a real estate development and management firm based in Berwyn, Pa., will take a year to 18 months to produce a master plan to build a multimodal transit center for the terminal's 50,000 commuters, replacing the patchwork of transportation options currently in place. LCOR is creating the plan at no cost, in exchange for venue fees and general development rights if the proposal gains final approvals.

LCOR formed a design team consisting of: Skidmore Owings & Merrill, a New York-based architect; Williams Jackson Ewing, a Baltimore developer; DMJM Harris, a New York-based engineer; and Langan Engineering, based in Elmwood Park, N.J.

In addition, construction is already under way on the second phase of a restoration of the ferry terminal. Hall Construction of Howell, N.J., is overseeing the $53.9 million project, which includes: marine work to demolish or renovate existing ferry slips, as well as construction of six new slips; restoration of the copper façade; demolition of wooden finger piers; structural and roof repairs; and construction of a replica of a 1907 clock tower.

The new phase is slated for completion in 2008. Early design work for the third and fourth phases, which will restore and expand the ferry service and build out commuter amenities, is expected to take place later this year.

AIA Bestows Design Awards

The New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects recently recognized 41 local and international firms and projects in the Tristate area and as far away as Germany with its Honor Awards.

Awards in the architecture category included the Whitney Water Purification Plant and Park in Hamden, Conn., designed by Steven Holl Architects of New York, and the Bronx Charter School for the Arts designed by New York-based Weisz + Yoes Studio. The AIA also recognized projects in Germany by New York-based Richard Meier and Eisenman Architects in this category.

Among the honors in the projects category, the institute recognized the Harlem Hospital New Patient Pavilion in Manhattan by St. Louis-based Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum; the Barnard Nexus, a multipurpose academic addition at Barnard College in New York designed by New York's Weiss/Manfredi; and the Staten Island Olympic Equestrian Facility in New York designed by New York-based Balmori.Sanders.

Interior honors went to several New York projects: the Modern, a Union Square cafe; the Human Rights in China headquarters in New York; and 66 Restaurant. Honors also went to the Elie Tahari Fashion offices and warehouse in Millburn, N.J.

Designs Advance for Bridgeport Office Tower

A New York-based architect is designing a 15-story office tower on land leased from Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Bridgeport, Conn.

Kohn Pedersen Fox has been selected to design the 320,000-sq.-ft. Trinity Place on a 2.8-acre site currently used as a municipal parking lot. The project will feature ground floor retail and dining as well as additional green space around the parish's structures.

Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises is managing the project, with final approvals expected this spring, followed by a search for tenants and contractors and a possible groundbreaking in 2007, said Thomas O'Leary, senior director of Cushman & Wakefield of Connecticut, the real estate broker handling the property.

The parish intends to use the lease revenue for restoration of its 19th-century church and rectory.