The master plan for Liberty State Park includes new picnic lawns, playgrounds and sports fields next to Liberty Landing Marina. So why is this fall's construction money going to paint, a warehouse teardown and the roof of a 19th-century train shed?
The short answer is that this fall's construction follows a funding deadline more than the master plan. The renovation you can see this season is clustered at the old Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal. The changes most likely to alter a weekend picnic or a kid's soccer practice are either in court or years away.
The deadline that set the order
The current round of work is Phase 2 of the Liberty State Park Revitalization Program. It runs through a partnership between the state Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. According to the NJEDA board memo dated September 16, 2026, Phase 2 includes $20 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds that "must be fully expended by December 31, 2026." A separate $35.8 million state appropriation is supposed to be spent by July 31, 2027, unless an extension is granted.
That memo asked the board for up to $6 million more in ARPA money and a revised Phase 2 budget of $60,205,396. The board approved it the same day with 14 ayes. The amendment also adds three priority items that weren't in the original plan:
- Repairs and painting for the Terminal concourse, the building's exterior and some roof sections
- Demolition of the DEP-owned warehouse at 1 Edward Hart Drive, down to its foundation
- Equipment, materials and vehicles for park staff to maintain what gets built
The memo spells out what happens to the rest of the list.
"The additional scope described above shall take precedence over the work prescribed for Marina Green and Gateway established in the original MOU."
Repainting steel and demolishing a building the state already owns are jobs that can start this fall. The memo puts both on a fall 2026 start. The DEP bought the Edward Hart property on October 23, 2025, so the warehouse was available for this work.
What's happening at the Terminal end
Most of the fall activity is within a short walk of the Terminal building.
Terminal Plaza has been under construction since February 2026. NJEDA expects it to be finished in fall 2026. In late September, the DEP's program page still listed the plaza as under construction and set to reopen "later in 2026." According to Better Blocks New Jersey, the redesign adds better waterfront access and more seating, and it changes the layout of the parking lot next to the plaza.
The Historic Train Shed is the biggest job. The DEP said in a January 2026 release that visitors haven't been allowed past the Terminal concourse into the shed since the park opened in 1976. The same Better Blocks piece cites an NJDEP response to the group's public-records request: Phase 1 starts this fall. It covers removing the concrete roof, cleaning up asbestos and stabilizing about 60,000 square feet of the structure, and it should run well into 2027. The DEP plans to turn that east section, where the shed meets the Terminal, into an event and gathering space with seating and interpretive programs. The final restoration contract won't be bid and awarded until 2027, after the demolition and a test section. Better Blocks reports that later phases could take more than five years and cost as much as $350 million.
That puts the roof removal, the concourse painting and the Edward Hart demolition all on fall timelines, all near the north end of the park.
Why the marina lawn depends on a lawsuit
Marina Green is the plan for multi-use athletic fields, picnic areas and other features next to Liberty Landing Marina. The September memo moved it down the list, but money isn't the main obstacle. The site is the problem.
The lawn sits on land the state currently leases to the marina operator. Under a new lease, the DEP's lease notice names SMI LL, LLC, an affiliate of Suntex, as tenant for 60 years at a minimum rent of $800,000 a year, plus a contribution toward the bulkhead. The DEP said the deal was meant to fund replacement of the bulkhead and let the department build an eight-acre lawn. Better Blocks reports more terms. Suntex would cover $30 million of the estimated $60 million bulkhead replacement and give up about 8.7 acres of leased land. It would also build a 70-foot dry-stack storage building for roughly 500 boats on 2.3 acres.
The State House Commission approved the lease on January 15, 2026. In March, eight environmental groups announced a lawsuit challenging the approval. Friends of Liberty State Park, one of the plaintiffs, said it wants the approval overturned and opposes the storage building. Better Blocks reports that the lawsuit and a separate State Comptroller review have paused both the storage building and the Marina Green work. That leaves a project planned at under $20 million unable to start, even with funding set aside for it.
The Audrey Zapp Drive Gateway, a new north entrance where Johnston and Jersey Avenues meet, is also funded, according to Better Blocks. No construction date has been announced, and it now sits behind the newly added work.
Where each piece stands this fall
| Project | Status as of October 2026 | What's driving the timing |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal Plaza | Under construction since February 2026, reopening expected later in 2026 | Original Phase 2 priority |
| Historic Train Shed, Phase 1 | Starting this fall: roof removal, asbestos cleanup, stabilization | Runs into 2027, final restoration bid in 2027 |
| Terminal concourse repairs and painting | Expected to start fall 2026 | Added Sept. 16 along with new ARPA money |
| Edward Hart warehouse demolition | Expected to start fall 2026 | Added Sept. 16, on state-owned land |
| Marina Green | Paused | Lease lawsuit and Comptroller review |
| Audrey Zapp Drive Gateway | Funded, no construction date | Placed behind the added work |
| Interior restoration | Bidding expected in January | Starts after a contractor is chosen |
| Athletics Hub | Conceptual | Waits on the interior cleanup, likely after 2030 |
The fenced interior is on a longer schedule
The park's interior covers more than 230 acres. It has been fenced off for decades because of pollution left from its industrial past. The DEP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started the first cleanup in October 2023, and ecological restoration comes after that. Better Blocks reports that the interior work goes out to competitive bid this January. When it's done, the plan calls for more than 5.6 miles of hiking and running trails, restored wetlands and forest, nature-based play areas and scenic overlooks. The Athletics Hub, with track and field facilities and multipurpose fields, can't start until the interior is finished. Better Blocks puts the likely groundbreaking after 2030, at a projected cost of $100 million to $150 million.
Two other items have come up this year. The 2026 Liberty State Park Protection Act, S2924, would bar transferring property rights in the interior and on the Caven Point Peninsula. It was sent to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on March 16, and the bill page shows no action since. The World Cup fan festival that was planned for the park this summer was canceled in February, as NJ.com reported. With the festival gone, so were the limits on parking, picnicking and walkway access that the DEP's January operations update had expected to come with it.
What's open around the work this season
The construction is concentrated at one end, and most of the park's regular spots are still running.
- Maddy Rose at Liberty House, formerly Liberty House Restaurant, serves lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday. Hours vary by day.
- The Feathered Fox is a steakhouse led by the team behind Maritime Parc, and Maritime Parc's site lists it as the venue's dining space.
- Liberty Landing Marina lists 520 slips and is booking winter storage.
- Liberty Landing Ferry runs year-round from the marina to Warren Street and Brookfield Place, according to the DEP's park page. Check the operator for current times and fares.
- Liberty Science Center holds its Halloween LSC After Dark night, "Covens," on Thursday, October 29, with Halloween laser and planetarium shows.
The free park shuttle finished its third season on September 6. Better Blocks also notes that many of the park's paths were repaved in the past year as part of the improvement program.
Big public projects shape daily life near them long before the ribbon-cutting, and the park is Jersey City's biggest. If you'd like to talk through how projects like the Terminal restoration and the stalled Marina Green figure into Jersey City's market, Staci Manoukian is happy to share what she's seeing, starting with an instant home valuation.
