Hudson County Community College in Jersey City is getting ready to break ground on a Journal Square Campus tower that will house a gymnasium, theater, classrooms, conference rooms, offices and much more.
The Hudson County-based school pioneered the urban campus concept by integrating learning environments, cultural spaces, public areas and workplaces within Jersey City’s Journal Square. In establishing the new campus, the college became an essential part of the neighborhood that engages and serves the county’s residents and businesses where they live and has been the catalyst for the area’s development.
On Tuesday, HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber and Trustee Pamela Gardner will welcome Hudson County Executive Craig Guy and other elected officials, as well as representatives of the Hudson County Building and Construction Trades Council and labor leaders, and HCCC students, cabinet members, faculty and staff for an official groundbreaking ceremony for the HCCC Center for Student Success at 2 Enos Place.
Reber said growing a campus embedded in one of the nation’s most densely populated areas poses unique challenges and the college was keenly aware of its overarching need to serve as a good steward of the neighborhood.
“The Center for Student Success was designed to centralize and consolidate all of our student services in one convenient location and complement the architecture of the surrounding area. It is the final segment of the Hudson County Community College Facilities Master Plan,” Reber said. “The County of Hudson has partnered with us through every step of our development so that we may provide our neighbors with the very best academic experiences possible. We are thankful for the ongoing support of County Executive Craig Guy, former County Executive Thomas DeGise and the Hudson County board of commissioners.”
The 11-story Center for Student Success, a 153,186 square-foot, mixed-use tower, is being constructed one block from the Journal Square PATH station on an existing HCCC-owned parking lot. It will replace several of the college’s small, segregated and aging buildings. The tower plans include 24 classrooms; expanded student services areas; student common spaces; full-size NCAA gymnasium; fitness center; black-box theater; health sciences laboratories; 85 offices; eight conference rooms; a “University Center” for sister colleges and partners to offer baccalaureate instruction; and much more.
The HCCC Center for Student Success construction utilizes the newest and environmentally sustainable materials and systems. A Project Labor Agreement assures that organized labor will be well represented on site during construction.
The grand opening is scheduled for fall 2026.
Funding for the $96.3 million tower is supplied by proceeds from the sale of HCCC properties and the college’s reserve funds; the County of Hudson; and New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education; among others.
