The basics:

• Exchange Place Alliance adds projects including Welcome to Jersey City sign, City Hall beautification
• Alliance has invested more than $1 million in public art and monument restoration
• EPA to add up to four new public art installations in Exchange Place
• Ice House Creative Center, parks and sculpture walk remain key placemaking priorities

Jersey City Special Improvement District Exchange Place Alliance is going to city hall. 

After expanding its wide-ranging placemaking efforts last year to restore monuments in its district and beyond, EPA is tackling a new batch of projects, NJBIZ has learned. The latest includes rehabilitating the iconic “Welcome to Jersey City” sign downtown, adding new public art in Exchange Place and advancing other capital improvement projects. 

The collaboration with Mayor James Solomon and the group’s continuing investments underscore how Exchange Place Alliance has expanded beyond traditional SID services, using placemaking and cultural investments as part of broader economic development efforts. 

After successfully refurbishing the Saints & Sailors monument at City Hall last year, it opened the door to further synergy with city government, and a greater understanding of the kind of impact EPA can help foster. 

‘Welcome to Jersey City’ 

Beyond revitalizing the “Welcome to Jersey City” installation, the Alliance will also embark on a larger beautification program outside City Hall, NJBIZ has learned. The administration also requested restoration work for the Cathedral of Oviedo Sculpture.  

“Exchange Place Alliance has been a terrific partner in bringing life back to Jersey City’s public spaces,” Solomon shared with NJBIZ in a statement. “These projects show what’s possible when the city and community partners work together to invest in the places that define our city.” 

Jersey City has several special improvement districts. However, Exchange Place Alliance operates at a different level than most. According to Executive Director Deidre Reynolds, EPA’s budget is eight times that of other such local organizations. That scale offers a larger platform, and EPA is putting it to good use. 

While raising its profile, Exchange Place Alliance is also raising the stakes of what it can accomplish by taking its out-of-the-box approach beyond its borders. 

The group’s expenditure on these culture and arts projects now totals more than $1 million. The newest restorations as well as the purchase of additional art pieces cost nearly $300,000 each. 

Other current projects the EPA has underway include the:

• Katyn Memorial
• Obelisk
• 9/11 Memorial
• Philippine War Memorial bust
• Korean War Memorial

It also previously restored the Police Memorial, which garnered much appreciation.  

As with prior rounds, conservator Jakki Godfrey of Boro 6 Art Conservation leads the restoration work. 

Conserving culture

As billions in development reshape Jersey City’s waterfront, the Alliance has remained focused on ensuring investment isn’t limited to new buildings but also extends to the public realm.  

It’s also made investments in other security and beautification projects in the district, taking on projects handled by local government or nonprofit civic groups. 

According to Jersey Digs, there are currently more than 10,000 units under construction in Jersey City.  

Walking along the waterfront 15 years ago, you could trip on a railroad tie, said Reynolds. “The past is everywhere down there.” Now, construction continues at a pace, with projects from New York City developers (e.g. Tishman Speyer, Related, etc.) signaling the city’s success. 

“But seeing public art means … that a city has a diverse taste or has … people living there that find that that’s going to be important to the community,” Reynolds explained. 

Exchange Place Alliance puts public art on display

After expanding its borders last fall, the EPA got busy putting its mark on the additional space. Take a look.

Based on CoStar data, the Jersey Digs report noted the waterfront has more than 6,600 units in the pipeline. The figure represents a 28% increase over existing inventory. It also pushes the neighborhood to the highest construction-to-inventory ratio among the New York area’s 52 multifamily submarkets, the local site highlighted. 

Amid a rapidly changing and growing backdrop, these projects also help achieve another kind of preservation work. The conservation efforts produce landmarks that continue to reflect and reinforce the diverse cultural ties that have shaped Jersey City. 

“We’re talking about a Korean War memorial. The Katyn Memorial from the Polish community; we’re talking about the Philippine War Memorial bust — all of these different cultures that contribute to Jersey City and have made it an incredibly diverse and vibrant place to be,” said Meredith Burns, executive artistic director at Art House and collaborator on the efforts. “We should also take interest in that public work and those public spaces. Ensuring that they’re maintained and that they can continue on and people can remember the history of Jersey City.” 

Exchange Place Alliance additions 

In addition to investing in the pieces that already decorate the city, the Alliance will also expand its collection of public art pieces with up to four new pieces.

Two or three additional works will arrive at 108 1st St., where the light rail stops. After that, one more is slated to occupy space in a park that will be built in the next couple of years, Burns said.

Last year, the Alliance revealed Puppy Love and Convergence at the same location. The developing sculpture walk and other placemaking efforts help draw and keep visitors and residents in the area. 

“The Alliance is focused on making Jersey City a standout community dedicated to public art as a meaningful benefit for residents, workers and visitors to enjoy,” said Exchange Place Alliance Board President Michael DeMarco. “Public art is too often overlooked as a community experience, and we are working to change that perception with gratifying results.”  

Local expertise

Beyond the sculpture care and restoration program and public art efforts, EPA has several other capital projects underway to advance its placemaking efforts, such as expanding its sculpture walk; refreshing existing public art, like Labyrinth for Reflection and the Generation of Love [No. 9]; advancing the Ice House Creative Center at 335 Washington St.; and improving neighborhood parks.

Next to the Ice House arts and culture hub, “we have what we’re calling the Morgan Park,” Reynolds explained. “Which is a kid’s park that’s going into the Powerhouse Arts District.” To accommodate that transformation, the Alliance helped relocate a community garden maintained by the Boys and Girls Club on that spot to another free location. 

There’s also a refresh planned for Nathanael Greene Park. “Morris Canal Park is there as well as Colgate Clock Park. And we would love, as a long-term goal, to work with the state in terms of doing something with that land. Making it a functional green space,” Reynolds said. 

She, Burns and DeMarco all live in Jersey City. And Burns’ family has been there for four generations.

“My Irish ancestors who immigrated here worked down in the factories that were on the waterfront. And there used to be a lot of industry, which was all so beautiful, but everything; things always change. That’s the only constant,” she said. “But I do think it’s special, or it’s important, that the folks who are at the forefront of some of this change are people who have seen it before, who are fully invested here … We’re not outsiders coming in.”