Just Right in Jersey City

Hudson County Community College Library Building

On May 27, 2015

The new Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Library Building, a collaboration between the college and county, already is a monument at its Sip Avenue site in Jersey City. The six-story, multipurpose building serves as the cornerstone for both the HCCC Journal Square Campus and the redevelopment of the Journal Square community. It also is a testament to the partners’ commitment to provide the best for Hudson County’s educational, cultural and economic growth.

Located near the Journal Square PATH Transit Station, the 112,000-square-foot, steel frame, masonry Library Building was designed to complement and enhance the surrounding area’s existing architecture. Sustainable features including daylight and occupancy sensors, and high-efficiency mechanical equipment, are incorporated throughout the building. The college also designed the building as a comfortable, well-appointed center where students and members of the community can come for knowledge and learning.

The building’s first two stories are dedicated to the 33,500-square-foot library itself. This core area includes a “Makerspace,” an area that promotes learning through creativity and crafting, plus a meditation room, three group study rooms and more than 70 computer stations.

Thirty-three “smart” classrooms, computer labs, tiered lecture halls and 21 office stations are located on floors three through five. While works from the HCCC Foundation Art Collection are installed throughout the library, a dedicated art gallery spans the sixth floor, with an exhibit space, three classrooms and a roof terrace. The college’s 9/11 Monument tops the building. The work was crafted using a piece of steel from a World Trade Center structural column and has been positioned on the terrace so that the new Freedom Tower serves as its backdrop.

The HCCC Library Building is emblematic of the belief shared by HCCC and Hudson County that investing in community education and training is one of the best ways to ensure the county’s future prosperity.

ARCHITECT
NK Architects
Morristown

BUILDER
Hall Building Corp.
Farmingdale

NOMINATOR
Thomas A. DeGise
County Executive
County of Hudson

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