User:Mclarkbar/Liberty Harbor

Liberty Harbor is a mixed-use development in Jersey City, NJ located between the historic neighborhoods of Paulus Hook and Van Vorst Park. It contains mix of residential townhomes, brownstones, and large condo buildings, as well as rental buildings. More specifically it encompasses 80 acres situated between Jersey Ave, Grand Street, and Marin Boulvard. The developer, Peter Mocco, acquired the land in 1983. The master plan, developed by Andres Duany exemplifies "New Urbanism".

Land History
The Tidewater Basin was created by the Central Railroad to act as the terminal. The Tidewater Basin, also known as the Big Basin of the Morris Cancal.

"By the 1880s, the CRRNJ purchased the Jersey City shore area that was near the Morris Canal basin, supplanted the canal business, and filled in the canal as it planned to build a new head terminal. In 1886 the Statue of Liberty across the harbor in the Hudson River was dedicated. The national symbol of freedom drew attention to the Jersey City waterfront, called the "Gateway to the West," and the proposed terminus. The Statue of Liberty became part of the logo for the CRRNJ."

Before 1900 the land was marsh and water. Sometime after 1900 the land was filled in and used as a transfer and storage train yard

New Urbanism
In New urbanism, the goal is to stop urban sprawl and create community. Liberty Harbor was planned to be a transit friendly community. In 2001, Duany's plan was voted New Jersey's best new development by the American Planning Association. "Due to its high-density housing, multiple transit connections, and pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use streetscape, this development is likely to serve as a textbook model for healthy urban growth in the future."

The plan is organized as an open network of small city blocks, designed to take optimal advantage of the beauty and convenience of the site. Its structure most closely resembles that of the Upper West Side, where a few wide avenues lined with tall buildings are connected by many narrow streets lined with townhouses. Most of the smaller streets are oriented southward toward the canal, with the central street directed at the Statue of Liberty. Three larger-scale thoroughfares cross the site on an east-west axis, the southernmost of which connects to a linear park along the canal. Together with Liberty State Park on the other side of the canal, this park provides public access to the waterfront and serves as a permanent greenscape along the neighborhood’s southern border. The plan, as approved by the City, contains: 6,000 housing units, with a gross residential density of over 100 units per acre; 500,000 sq.ft. of retail; 4,000,000 sq.ft. of office space; 8 acres of parks/open space; and a school and other civic spaces.



THE ARCHITECTURE:
In the first phase of Liberty Harbor, 10 different architects were hired to create a neighborhood that looks like it is evolving in time. The architects and developer took influences from Old european cities, New York, and Boston, to create a community feel. "The style of the houses is eclectic: one block of attached houses features the work of five different architects, including traditional brick and glass-fronted. Different colors of granite are used to demarcate the corners of the sidewalks and a distinctive "LH" logo is etched into streetlamps, carved stone pediments and front-stoop steps."

THE BUILDINGS

 * The Brownstones:


 * The Townhouse Suites:


 * The Sutton (10 Regent Street): An 8 story brick and limestone condo building designed by WJW.


 * The Zenith (9 Regent Street): An 8 story loft style rental building, designed by Alexander Gorlin, contains both flat style apartments as well as duplexes.  This building was finished in late 2008.

Construction for the project started in late 2005. People began living in the development in late 2007.