NJ Transit chooses LCOR for Hoboken Terminal.

New Jersey Transit board of directors recently selected LCOR to produce a master plan that will serve as a blueprint for transit-oriented development at its 65-acre Hoboken Terminal and Yard complex.

The selection of LCOR signals NJ Transit's intention to create a facility that can both serve as an integrated multimodal transit center and a gateway to the Hudson waterfront for more than 50,000 commuters and residents who use the complex daily.

"A master plan for this site that fully integrates the needs of the commuters and the community is long overdue," said board chairman and DOT commissioner Jack Lettiere. "We look forward to working with Hoboken and Jersey City to design a blueprint that will optimize the potential of this asset while reinforcing local commerce."

LCOR will develop a master plan at its own expense and will serve as master planner and developer for the site. For the master planning process, LCOR has assembled a well-known team that has unique experience in transit-oriented development, including projects such as JFK International Arrivals Terminal, Grand Central Terminal and Washington Union Station. The team includes Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Williams Jackson Ewing, Inc., DMJM + Harris and Langan Engineering.

In beginning the master plan process, NJ Transit is seeking to achieve the following goals:

Improve intermodal functionality to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency between rail, light rail, bus, PATH and ferry.

Maximize economic return from an underutilized real estate asset through transit-oriented development.

Reactivate the historic terminal as a waterfront gateway that serves as a well-conceived transportation terminal and a mixed-use community hub.

Promote economic development and capitalize on public investment in the terminal building.

"This outstanding waterfront site is the keystone that unites Hoboken and Jersey City," said LCOR executive vice president Kurt M. Eichler. "Through the time-tested strategy of public-private partnership, we will tap Hoboken Terminal and Yard's transit-oriented development potential to deliver first-class economic opportunities and benefits to both residents and transit users throughout the region."

When Hoboken Terminal was constructed 100 years ago, most customers used it exclusively as a transfer point between trains and trans-Hudson ferries. The city of Hoboken existed primarily as a seaport and railroad town at that time.

Today, in addition to trains and ferries, Hoboken Terminal customers make connections between commuter rail, buses, PATH, light rail vehicles, ferries and other modes of transportation, as well as using the terminal to access the city of Hoboken, which has become a destination in its own right.

One of the goals of the master development plan will be to improve Hoboken Terminal by creating a more customer-friendly layout that better integrates the various travel modes and provides seamless passenger and pedestrian flow, as well as enhanced amenities for commuters.

At the same time, the NJ Transit board of directors approved a $53.9 million contract for the second phase of a rehabilitation project that will return a portion of Hoboken Terminal to its original design, ultimately restoring permanent ferry service to the historic building and creating a new ferry waiting area for customers.

The contract award to Hall Construction Co., Inc. will allow for marine construction of five of the original six ferry slips, as well as restoration of the exterior copper facade and lighting on the river side of the terminal, structural repairs, roof repairs and demolition of the finger piers and wooden fenders.

In addition, NJ Transit plans to build a replica of the clock tower that originally stood on top of the building.

The structure will mimic the original 1907 design by artist Kenneth Murchinson. The second phase of construction is expected to begin at the end of this year and finish in 2008. The project's first phase, which began last year and was completed in September 2005, included repairs to the terminal's substructure and superstructure.

Early design work for the third and final phase is anticipated within the next few months.