City of Hoboken to construct fourth resiliency park 

City releases requests for proposals for park design firm  

Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla and the City of Hoboken today announced it is seeking a qualified consultant to engage in an open public process for the design of the City’s newest resiliency park planned for 800 Monroe St.

“The City has taken an innovative approach to provide our residents with more quality open space that also serves the dual purpose of making our mile-square community more resilient to the effects of climate change,” said Mayor Bhalla. “I look forward to working with the community on creating a multi-faceted park for all residents to enjoy.”

The 1.43-acre property is envisioned as a world-class resiliency park and community space that will be integral to the neighborhood, mitigate rainfall flooding in western Hoboken, and connect the Green Circuit as detailed in the City’s Master Plan.

The selected consultant will work with the City, community stakeholders, and the public at large to create design alternatives for the site incorporating innovative active recreation, passive recreation, cultural amenities, landscapes, resiliency components, and urban design. There will be multiple opportunities for public engagement and a project website for members of the public to stay informed throughout the design process. The park’s design will also complement the character of the existing neighborhood and the 7th & Jackson Resiliency Park, which the City opened in 2019, that can detain more than 470,000 gallons of stormwater runoff.

The City acquired the property, bounded by Monroe Street to the west, 8th Street to the south, Jackson Street to the east, and the residential building to the north, through a three-way land swap agreement with the Applied Parties earlier this fall.

Prior to the City’s execution of the agreement, the site was slated to be developed for multifamily residential use, and currently sits vacant.

The City opened its first resiliency park in 2017. The Southwest Resiliency Park manages nearly 200,000 gallons of stormwater using underground detention and surface green infrastructure. Hoboken is currently designing a 1-acre expansion to Southwest Park, which will manage up to 600,000 gallons of stormwater. The City is currently constructing its largest resiliency park, the 6-acre Northwest Resiliency Park, which will manage 1 million gallons of stormwater in underground detention and up to 1 million gallons using surface green infrastructure.

Southwest and Northwest Parks are Rainfall Flood Mitigation projects identified in the Rebuild by Design Hudson River (“RBD-HR”) comprehensive water management strategy. The RBD-HR strategy includes hard infrastructure and soft landscape for coastal defense (Resist); policy recommendations, guidelines, and urban infrastructure to slow stormwater runoff (Delay); green and grey infrastructure improvements to allow for greater storage of excess rainwater (Store); and water pumps and alternative routes to support drainage (Discharge).

The 800 Monroe community park will enhance the City’s storm mitigation by becoming an additional delay, store, discharge project.