Hudson County Opens New $350 Million Justice Complex in Jersey City

The new $350 million, 405,000-square-foot Honorable Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex in Jersey City, N.J., features 24 new courtrooms, hearing and mediation rooms, administrative offices and public spaces. | Photo Credit: Hudson County

• Hudson County, N.J., officials formally opened the Honorable Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 6 in Jersey City.
• The approximately 405,000-square-foot complex consolidates key court functions and includes 24 courtrooms, hearing and mediation rooms, grand jury and jury assembly spaces.
• The building also provides space for Courts Administration, the Hudson County Prosecutor, the Surrogate and the Sheriff’s Department, along with public-facing amenities.
• The project is part of a broader modernization effort that includes work at the historic William J. Brennan Courthouse and a future public park on the former administration building site.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Hudson County, N.J., marked a major milestone in its long-running courthouse modernization effort with the June 6 ribbon cutting for the Honorable Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, a new $350 million justice facility in Jersey City named for former U.S. Rep. Frank J. Guarini.

According to Hudson County, the opening brings online a new complex designed to consolidate major court functions while improving circulation, security and public access. Project materials indicate the facility was planned as part of a larger civic redevelopment effort in the Journal Square area.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Guarini, Hudson County Executive Craig Guy, U.S. Reps. LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez, and other local officials and labor leaders. The opening signals the transition from years of planning and phased construction to active use of the new courthouse complex.

Official project information describes the building as an approximately 405,000-square-foot facility containing 24 courtrooms, including two civil courtrooms, 10 criminal courtrooms and 12 family courtrooms. The complex also includes hearing and mediation rooms, grand jury and jury assembly spaces, with administrative offices for Courts Administration, the county prosecutor, the surrogate and the sheriff.

Public-facing amenities include a 75-seat cafeteria, a self-help law library, a children’s play area and staff training spaces. The layout clusters high-traffic functions such as jury assembly on the ground level, places criminal court on Level 2 and family court on Level 3, and separates public circulation from judicial and secure holding areas. Project documents state that the design allows the public, judges and defendants to intersect only inside the courtroom itself, supported by a secure sally port, below-grade holding and dedicated elevators.

The complex was designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, with construction manager MAST Construction Services and design-build contractor Terminal Construction Corp. also serving on the project team.

The opening is also part of a longer modernization strategy that includes work at the William J. Brennan Courthouse and the eventual redevelopment of the former 595 Newark Ave. administration building site into public green space. Project background materials cite decades of studies concluding the older administration building was inadequate for modern court operations and security requirements.

Pre-construction for the project began in 2019 and the project broke ground in 2021. Correctional News previously reported on the project in 2020, when county officials were advancing the then-estimated $345 million courthouse plan and describing it as a catalyst for a broader civic district in Jersey City.

This article is based on a press release published by Hudson County on June 8, 2026, with supplemental project details drawn from the Honorable Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex project overview.