Newport Park Pier is a public waterfront neighborhood destination in Jersey City, NJ that spurs from the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway (HRWW) and successfully capitalizes on borrowed views of Manhattan while augmenting the panoramic quality of the space with native, textural planting, and dynamic public art. The pier was originally constructed as part of the Erie-Lackawanna Railway and has been designed as a native landscape experience using forms that recall the historic rail lines which terminated at this site.

As part of the HRWW network, this project requires a public access walk to the end of the pier that culminates with a waterfront plaza destination. MNLA seamlessly knits the park within the existing network while simultaneously designing a unique and distinctive experience on the eastern edge.

Once the subsurface structure was stabilized, a resilient waterfront public space subject to coastal conditions such as salt spray, prevailing winds, and climate change took form. It effectively incorporates public art that lends character and acts as a landmark for visitors. Inspiration from the pier’s existing regenerative vegetation and industrial past informs the park’s site texture and planting palette. Over 90% of the plants are native to the Northern New Jersey Coastal environment and provide habitat for wildlife.
(MNLA)