McGinley Square

Jersey City, NJ

Located in the historic but blighted downtown of Jersey City, New Jersey, Cooper Carry was tasked with creating a master plan for this site at McGinley Square that created a walkable mixed use, transit-oriented development that enabled the resurgence of downtown. Cooper Carry and Trinity Acquisition saw the opportunity to connect the civic, public and cultural assets to the new development and create a place pleasant for people who live, work and go to school in Jersey City. Currently, the site sits just east of St. Peter’s College and surrounds the school’s commuter student parking lot. Both Trinity Acquisition and St. Peter’s recognized this as an opportunity to shape the reawakening of Jersey City together. St. Peter’s College plans for the future include significant growth and the need for additional dorm space. Currently, students walk from the commuter parking lot along a sidewalk beside worn down warehouses to reach campus. Furthermore, this parking lot sits in a strategic location for the design of a future walkable, vibrant development. To solve both needs, Trinity agreed to provide 504 beds of dorm space and student parking in the master plan. In Cooper Carry’s master plan, McGinley Square will become a cohesive network of public parks, plazas, streetscapes and festival promenade where residents, workers, students, and visitors can safely stroll and conveniently shop, relax, dine and socialize in a variety of public realm spaces. In addition to dorms and public space, the development will include over 300,000 square feet of retail, 400 residential units, a 150 room hotel, 230,000 square feet of office and over 2500 parking spaces.