Hoboken Terminal and Yard Complex Redevelopment

The historic Hoboken Terminal and Yard Complex will be fully restored into a vital multi-modal rail and ferry terminal. STV was selected by NJ TRANSIT as the general design consultant for this project and will provide management, administration, and engineering services. Incorporating creative commercial and retail spaces while maintaining full use of the terminal is key to the design. The project cost is approximately $300 million.

Background

The complex is comprised of the Hoboken Terminal building, both railroad and ferry terminals, the Bush train shed and storage yard as well as support facilities. The STV team will develop a long-term comprehensive master plan and a design that maintains the historic fabric of the complex while modernizing and restoring the 90-year-old facility. The master plan will ensure the seamless integration of the terminal's multi-modal transportation services, upgrade customer services and amenities, promote its potential commercial and retail use, as well as provide NJ TRANSIT with modern facilities. The impacts of construction on NJ TRANSIT's operations will be staged to minimize interruptions in customer services.

The rail and ferry terminal buildings opened in 1907, designed by architect Kenneth M. Murchison in the Beaux Arts style. The terminal exterior extends to over four stories and has a distinguished copper-clad facade with ornate detailing. Its single-story base in constructed of rusticated Indiana limestone. A grand double stair with decorative cast-iron railings within the Main Waiting Room provides an entrance to the upper-level ferry concourse.

Project Description

The 29,000-square-foot ferry terminal was designed to integrate rail and ferry operations into one cohesive complex. The ferry terminal's six grand arches each correspond to a berth. At the time of its construction, the upper level concourse was one of the largest unobstructed interior spaces in the world.

The Bush train shed is comprised of seven canopies, each spanning a 20-foot-wide island platform servicing two tracks. Constructed of steel, reinforced concrete, copper and cast iron, the shed was connected to the rail terminal building by a skylit concourse. Fluted, cast iron columns with Ionic capitals run along the centerline of each platform, supporting the shed. This a departure from the traditional barrel-vaulted-style train sheds. To the north is a covered bus plaza which accommodates local Hoboken bus service as well as NJ TRANSIT and private operator buses to New York City. Within the bus plaza and train concourse are direct entrances to the Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) terminal station.

Existing ancillary maintenance buildings that are part of the site complex include the diesel car shop, the MU car shop, and a steam plant. The STV team will research and document existing buildings for historical significance and integrate into the master plan any building or structure identified as historic and practical for adaptive reuse. A new running repair shop will also be designed.

STV will be responsible for establishing baseline data; preparing technical scopes of work; developing concept designs and implementation plans; issuing RFP's; hiring and managing subconsultants; overseeing the management and design of individual projects; managing a community participation and public outreach program; and coordinating with the appropriate agencies. The firm's work on the project also includes adaptive reuse of facilities.

With the master planning for rehabilitation of these facilities, the bus plaza and the PATH station, as well as the reconfiguration and renewal of rail yards and maintenance facilities to support an expanded railcar fleet, this project will revitalize the Hoboken complex into an attractive, safe and strategic intermodal transportation hub.

All work, including the sensitive restoration of historical facades and building interiors, will be performed in strict accordance with the requirements of the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and will comply with appropriate environmental regulations.