Rebuild By Design

Hill, in a joint venture, is providing project and construction management services to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) under a contract with the New Jersey Division of Property Management and Construction (DPMC) for flood mitigation and environmental infrastructure projects. The project is funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).

These hazard mitigation projects will provide resiliency and enhance safety for residents, commuters, business owners, and critical infrastructure from Weehawken Cove through NJ Transit’s Hoboken Rail Yard. In addition to the DDPMC, stakeholders for all projects include the NJ Department of Community Affairs, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, and the local governments of Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City. Other third parties requiring coordination include several state and local environmental groups, utilities, businesses operating in the impacted areas, and neighborhood associations. The Hill team is supporting two Rebuild by Design (RBD) projects. The RBD projects originated with a design competition sponsored by HUD to find effective ways to protect people, homes, businesses, and infrastructure, and to increase resilience in regions affected by Superstorm Sandy. At the conclusion of the RBD competition, HUD selected two projects for New Jersey. These projects are:

Task Order 1, The RBD Hudson River Project This project takes a multi-faceted approach to address flooding from both major storm surge and high tide as well as from heavy rainfall events. The project seeks to benefit flooding areas in Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City. The state has received $230 million in CDBG-DR funds to implement this project. Hill’s scope of services includes assisting the DEP in managing the Hudson River RBD project throughout the phases of the project life cycle. The first work order was for the Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement (FS/EIS) phases, with an emphasis on meeting goals relating to project deliverables, schedule, budget, scope and quality. The JV is also assisting the DEP attaining final approval from HUD for the EIS, Action Plan Amendment (APA) and Record of Decision (ROD). In addition, we are assisting with selection of the design team to complete the design and move the project into construction.

Task Order 2, The RBD Meadowlands Project Hill, in a Joint Venture, is providing construction management services on the RBD Meadowlands Project (Meadowlands Project). This is a multi-year effort to plan, design and implement various flood reduction and resiliency measures. New Jersey will receive $150 million in CDBG-DR funds to implement “Pilot Area 1” of the flood mitigation project known as the “New Meadowlands – Protect, Connect, Grow” (New Meadowlands). Pilot Area 1 encompasses portions of the towns of Carlstadt, Little Ferry, Moonachie, South Hackensack and Teterboro. Hill is assisting the DEP in determining the best, most cost-effective way to implement comprehensive flood protection as well as reviewing the designer’s FS/EIS for the project.