Jersey City has been one of the fastest growing communities in the New York Metropolitan area. With this rapid growth has come a major need for housing, so the city identified the 100-acre Bayfront redevelopment area, one of the largest remaining open development sites in the metropolitan area, as a site to address affordable housing.

Perkins Eastman’s plan for Bayfront envisions a vibrant new transit-oriented waterfront development. The approach focused on creating a series of compelling public environments to serve as the setting for new development. This included activating the site’s half-mile frontage along the Passaic River as well as a protected cove shared with the neighboring community; and a new boulevard treatment along the Route 440 arterial. The new public realm is knit together by a walkable street network that balances the needs of pedestrians and cars and provides all new development parcels with direct access to a new light rail station.

The ultimate development program for Bayfront envisions 6,000-8,000 units of new residential, and 150,000 sf of commercial development, as well as two new schools. Special attention was paid to creating a first phase of over 800,000 sf to establish a sense of momentum for a site that defied development for over 15 years.