The Lucy Tops Out in Jersey City

The Lucy, a 24-story residential structure rising behind and on top of the 130-year-old St. Lucy Church and adjacent structures in Jersey City, has reached its architectural height. Combining historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and new construction, The Lucy brings a true mesh of old and new to a constrained urban site.

Built within the preserved facades of the Church, adjacent rectory, school, and bell tower, the completed 520,000 SF development will contain 444 units, 251 parking, and 5,600 SF of ground floor retail. A triangular cantilever overhangs the preserved church steeple bell tower. The residences are the next phase in a long life for St. Lucy’s Church, which has served as a church, a school, and a transitional housing facility.

Through highly complex feats of structural design, the DeSimone structural engineering team wove together old and new, carefully sequencing load paths and bracing the historic masonry facades so that construction could proceed within. Since the church and adjacent structures were built before modern code standards, excavation and foundation work was constantly monitored to ensure no damage to historic elements. As the historic facades don’t align with a modern residential grid, our team designed substantial transfers to effectively distribute loads throughout the building and down into the foundation.

Full completion of the project is expected in 2027.

Joining teams from architect Michael Graves Architecture, developers SJP Properties, Claremont Development, and Battery Global Advisors, and general contractor KL Masters Construction at the topping out event was DeSimone Managing Principal Mukesh Parikh, PE (not pictured), Project Engineer Dileep Chandrashekhar (pictured in first photo, left), Senior Project Engineer Omar Shahid, PE (pictured, rear), and Inspectors Carlos Flores (pictured, right) and Edward Monroy (pictured, extreme right). Also leading the project is Associate Principal Lokanath Nagaraja, PE. 

Pictured in second photo: Project Engineer Dileep Chandrashekhar (left), Senior Project Engineer Omar Shahid, PE (right).