Transit-Oriented Development in Jersey City

jersey_city_TOD.jpg

Last week Alec posted a vision for transit-oriented development that was met by the Streetsblog commenters with less than universal enthusiasm. While we are on the subject, I submit a vision being acted upon that I find close to ideal. Here we see Jersey City, specifically the two blocks of Newark Avenue between Erie Street and Christopher Columbus Drive. The large building under construction in the background sits atop the Grove Street PATH station, a spot of land that represented an excellent opportunity for high density growth because it was formerly a collection of parking lots with a half dozen low-rise buildings including what looks like it was an automobile service garage. 

New Jersey has come to understand the importance of transit-oriented development, and people are making it happen over there. Here, the new apartments blend in with and compliments the older fabric, which has been preserved. We have a neighborhood that has a mixture of uses that supports a streetscape with a diverse cast of characters and a never ending intricate sidewalk ballet. It is great to see this type of growth fueling the rebirth of New Jersey’s cities. If they have the same economic forces at work as we have in New York City, this will prove to be so popular that the challenge will be to ensure that people at all income levels can enjoy this rebuilt neighborhood.

  • P

    True- I’m typically a homer pulling for NYC to get new development on the belief that it is more pedestrian and ecologically friendly. But I have to say the allure of a two-waterfront city like Vancouver has a strong allure.

    Bring on the water taxis!

  • AD- Is this Grove Pointe (pronounced “pointy”?)?

    http://www.grovepointecondos.com/

    It’s hard to get too excited when the first link at that site (once you wade through the Obligatory Flash Slide Show (OFSS)), titled “Building” proudly showcases the driveway and sidewalk-hogging garage entrance.

    (But at least they include a light rail vehicle in their OFSS. And yeah, it’s better than a parking lot.)

  • brent

    Wouldn’t it be great if NJ actually became competetive with NYC’s boros for urban living, rather than competing with the suburbs of Long Island.

  • People have been calling Hoboken the “6th boro” since the 1980s…

  • Urban in-fill. Good stuff.

    Every open air parking lot should be looked at as a development opportunity.

  • AD

    Steveo, yes, that’s the place all right. Nice OFSS

  • Alec Appelbaum

    Looks exciting, as a project and as a concept. As to the latter, I ask the planners out there: how can regional governments work together to site TOD in commuter cities along train lines to Manhattan? How can these regional groups weaken the corruption that has marked government in New Jersey and Connecticut for decades? And what’s the relationship between the number of local governments in an area and the smoothness of TOD in that area?

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