Port Liberté is a section ofJersey City located on Caven Point, formerly one of the last natural sand beaches on theUpper New York Bay.[1] The community is a European style village located along the western side ofUpper New York Bay. The community has canals, gardens, playgrounds, and a restaurant. The many luxury condominiums and townhouses offer views of Manhattan and theStatue of Liberty. In addition, many of the residences have canals on the back making the village perfect for boating. Many of the canals are also lined with walkways, gardens, and docks. TheLiberty National Golf Club and theCaven Point section ofLiberty State Park neighbor the development on the north and east respectively, and are accessible via theHudson River Waterfront Walkway.
NY Waterway-operated ferries travel toPier 11/Wall Street inManhattan on weekdays during the morning and evening commuter periods.[2]
The981 Port Liberte-Grove Street bus used to serve the area before it was discontinued on May 29, 2010. The development owners have expanded their own shuttle service in response.[3][4]
Jersey City took over ownership and operations of the ferry terminal in 2023.[5] Upon taking control of operations, the city partially subsidized the original fare from $13 to $8.[6]
Port Liberté was built on the site of a house, named the Hancock House, that was visited by GeneralMarquis de Lafayette during the Revolutionary War to spy on British troops inNew York City.[7] The house was demolished some time in the 20th century.
The new set of real estate was designed byFrançois Spoerry, a French architect, who invented the concept of "soft architecture", that would prefigurenew urbanism. He developed the concept atPort Grimaud, a waterfront project inSaint-Tropez,France, and attempted to adapt it at Port Liberté.[citation needed]
Commenced in the 1980s, this European-style mixed-use complex planned for 2,280 residential units, a 245-boat slip marina, 590 canal boat slips, 350-room hotel, a 46,000-square-foot (4,300 m2) office building, retail/commercial spaces recreation facilities, a health club and a yacht club. However, the complexity of the design, the costly canal engineering and the collapse of Wall Street in the late 1980s drove the project to bankruptcy. Only 37 town homes and 363 of the planned residential units are completed.Joseph Barry of the Applied Company based atHoboken, New Jersey took it over, abandoned the canal plan and completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 of construction in early 2000s.[8]
In 2018, permits were applied for a permit to build 284 units byToll Brothers.[9] In 2019, the city approved the construction of a five-story building with 400 units, as well as another plan to build four-story townhouses with 69 units, both under Toll Brothers.[10] However, by 2021, the deal had fallen through, a new application was submitted by Ironstate Development for the construction of a five-story building with 401 units and a seven-story 602-spaceparking garage, being almost identical to the previously approved Toll Brothers building.[11] In 2022, the city approved Ironstate Development's plan for the apartment building.[12] In 2023, construction of the new building began.[13]
In 2025, to fill the remaining ten acres of land in Port Liberté, Putle Homes proposed a 168-unit townhouse complex consisting of 19 four-story buildings in called Liberty Watch. The complex would have 336 parking spaces for residents and 80 additional street spots, as well as 168 bicycle parking spaces. The plan has significantly less units than the allowed 512 units, which was reportedly due to being more aesthetically pleasing and to adhere toNJDEPflood hazard requirements andstormwater rules.[14]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)40°41′08″N74°04′18″W / 40.685649°N 74.07154°W /40.685649; -74.07154
