Elizabeth Redevelopment

As part of the Elizabeth New Jersey Midtown Redevelopment Plan, the designers have helped the developers win the rights to develop two Parcels in near proximity to the train station. Each parcel is a desolate full city block which has been cleared by the city and provided with infrastructure improvements to promote development.

The proposed plan is to construct similarly scaled five story buildings on both parcels with lower level parking, ground floor retail, and four stories of residential. The parcels slope from south to north, allowing for direct access to the lower level parking on the north façade. These buildings are configured to maintain an activating street façade and to create private interior courts. At two opposite corners, the buildings are eroded to visually open the courtyards to the city and the city to the courtyards. These open corners also signify the primary entrance to the buildings, oriented towards the historic commuter train station and its iconic clock tower. The visual connection between the historic clock tower and the private courts enhances the transit oriented nature of the development.

A layered approach was used in developing the façades. A brick base of traditional scale and detailing creates a solid armature for the façade. More contemporary metal and panelized elements are layered onto the brick base, with large frames relating to the scale of the city, and balconies and accents relating to the scale of the units.

Both buildings are amenity rich. However, Parcel D has additional amenity space and is designed to be ideally suited for transient users, acknowledging the blurring between traditional hotels and new open economy transient occupancies.