Hudson County Community College Presented with New Jersey Business & Industry Association New Good Neighbor Award 2015
June 9, 2015
College's new Library Building on Journal Square Campus recognized with prestigious state award; this is the third time the College has received the NJCIA New Good Neighbor Award.
June 9, 2015, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) was one of just a dozen entities in New Jersey to be recognized by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) with that organization’s “New Good Neighbor Award” for 2015 for the College’s new Library Building on Sip Avenue in Jersey City.
The award was presented to HCCC President Glen Gabert, Ph.D. along with Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise (who was the nominator), NK Architects, and Hall Building Corp. at the NJBIA award luncheon on Friday, June 5 at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township, NJ.
Each year for the past 55 years, the NJBIA New Good Neighbor Award has been presented to recognize new, renovated or expanded buildings. Nominees are judged by a panel representing statewide organizations that share an interest in New Jersey’s growth and development. The panel considers each nominee on the basis of economic benefit/job creation, architectural merit, and community involvement.
This was not the first time Hudson County Community College has been recognized with the NJBIA New Good Neighbor Award. The College was presented with the 2009 Award for the Culinary Conference Center on the Journal Square Campus in Jersey City, and with the 2012 Award for the HCCC North Hudson Higher Education Center in Union City.
The HCCC Library Building officially opened in September 2014. The six-story, multipurpose building serves as the cornerstone for the HCCC Journal Square Campus, and for the redevelopment of the Journal Square community.
Situated just steps away from the Journal Square PATH Transit Station, the 112,000 square-foot, steel-frame, masonry Library Building was designed to complement and enhance the existing architecture of the surrounding area. Sustainable features, including daylight and occupancy sensors and high-efficiency mechanical equipment, are incorporated throughout the building.
Entrance to the HCCC Library Building from Sip Avenue is available through a soaring, two-story lobby. Adjacent to the lobby is the HCCC Liberty Café, a coffee bar that offers pastries, sandwiches, and snacks.
The building’s first two stories (street-level and second floor) are dedicated to the 33,500 square-foot Library itself. Included here is a “Makerspace,” a meditation room, three group-study rooms, and more than 70 computer stations.
Floors three through five house 33 classrooms (traditional “smart” classrooms, computer labs and tiered lecture halls) and 21 office stations. Two rooms on the fifth floor are being named in honor of notable Hudson County natives.
There is a gallery on the sixth floor that is named for Benjamin J. Dineen, III and Dennis C. Hull, who presented the College with an historic gift of works of art. Works from the HCCC Foundation Art Collection are installed on each floor throughout the Library Building and throughout each of College’s buildings. The Library Building’s sixth floor also includes the College’s 9/11 Monument, an exhibit space, three classrooms, and a roof terrace with spectacular views of Hudson County.
The HCCC Library Building represents the mutual commitment of the County of Hudson and Hudson County Community College to the residents and businesses of Hudson County.