Jersey City is one step closer to getting a new high-tech high school. The school is part of a larger project that could transform New Jersey into a leader in science and technology.

The city has reached an agreement with Hudson County and the Liberty Science Center to build a new 400-student high school next to the science center.

“A public high school working with the county school of technologies – for kids who show infinity or interest in science and technology,” says Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.

The school is just one part of a massive project called SciTech Scity – a 30-acre technological hub for students, innovators, entrepreneurs and scientists. Fulop calls it a mini-city of the future, rivaling some of the big names in tech.

“Just miles from New York City that will be all New Jersey and will act as a place that fosters the next Google or Amazon and cultivates those young people,” says Fulop.

The school would partner with technology startup companies for work-study programs. These companies will be in Edge Works, a building full of research labs and workspace right next to the Liberty Science School. A residential component is expected down the road.

The school should break ground later this year. Students will start by 2023.

As part of the agreement, 60% of the students would be from Jersey City, while the rest would come from other parts of Hudson County.