The Future of Newark is Now

Brick City transforms into live, work, and play destination.

By Meg Fry, Contributing Writer On Nov 7, 2024

The Renaissance of Newark is here – and the city is preparing for new residents and visitors. There’s the ongoing $190 million capital investment project at Newark Penn Station; the $570 million AirTrain Newark Replacement, with construction slated for 2025 through 2029; the $110 million “High Line”-like Pedestrian Bridge traversing McCarter Highway to Newark Penn Station; and, of course, Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport.

“People who haven’t been here or turned their backs on Newark are missing out on the most amazing urban transformation,” says Vincent Baglivo, executive director of the Ironbound Business Improvement District and Board Member for the Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

Deputy Mayor Allison Ladd, director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development, says following the COVID-19 pandemic, investors and developers are still bold and bullish on growth in Newark.

Though largely focused on arts, health, and wellness, Newark’s incredible transformation is now attracting hundreds of new tech startups and higher-income residents. 

“Newark is perfectly positioned at the intersection of development and opportunity in order to program for equity, rather than right-size for it,” said Aisha Glover, global head of urban innovation at Audible, which has been headquartered in and been a champion of Newark since 2007. 

Affordable Housing 

“There’s a deficiency of nearly 16,000 affordable housing units in Newark, but if all the developers in the city contributed, we could close that gap quite quickly,” says Richard Dunn, senior vice president at Paramount Assets.

For its part, Paramount Assets’ 297-309 Clinton Ave. Urban Renewal project plans to provide 64 affordable housing rental units and 38 on-site parking spaces for senior citizens in the South Ward.

Irvington-based developer and restauranteur Adenah Bayoh’s Springview Development Group secured zoning board approval for its Southside View project at 654-668 South 11th Street to provide 63 affordable housing rental units and 36 parking spaces for South Ward residents, complete with washers and dryers in each unit.

And even University Hospital, which in July opened the city’s first Health and Wellness Center on 388 West Market St., included 78 affordable rental apartments and 16 units for unhoused individuals and families in its design. 

Government Investment 

Ladd says there is a lot to be excited and grateful for when it comes to creating more affordable housing opportunities in the city of Newark. 

“Throughout the summer, we’ve been offering $3 million (in grant funding) to fill gaps in home ownership for developments under construction today,” she says. “Home ownership is a way to build equity and legacy wealth for families, and right now, more than 75% of our residents are renting.”

Ladd also lauds the Newark Land Bank, the first and only in the state, for helping residents to own their first homes. 

“After Governor Murphy and the administration introduced legislation in 2019 allowing municipalities like Newark to participate, Mayor Ras Baraka was immediately engaged and working to implement the creation of the Land Bank to expedite the development of city-owned land to be utilized as neighborhood assets,” Ladd says.

Administered by Invest Newark, the city’s economic development corporation, Newark Land Bank has strategically acquired and efficiently repurposed more than 169 vacant and foreclosed properties to create 89 home ownership opportunities, 63 side lot opportunities, and 17 commercial opportunities. 

Marcus Randolph, president and CEO of Invest Newark, said the Newark Retail Reactivation Grants conceptualized by Mayor Ras Baraka and Invest Newark to revitalize vacant space and increase amenities and services for Newark residents and visitors are bringing better retail, non-profit, education, and service-oriented businesses to Downtown Newark.

The program has provided $3.5 million to 15 businesses since September 2023. 

Luxury Living with Community Purpose

While there is no shortage of construction of luxury apartments in Newark, not every developer is as hyper-focused on the physical and mental wellbeing of its residents. 

For example, J&L Companies’ Fifty-Five (55) Union is the first 403-unit residential building in Newark to be awarded the Fitwel certification for its eco-friendly and wellness-oriented designs, including its greywater recycling system, its regenerative power elevator system, and more than 20,000 square feet of outdoor space. 

“We are thrilled to be setting the standard as the first residential building in the city to receive this prestigious designation and look forward to welcoming even more residents who want to be a part of this vibrant community, says Gabriel Lopez, principal at J&L Cos. 

In June, the NJEDA also approved up to $74 million in Aspire tax credits for The Metropolitan, a 23-story high-rise at 260-272 Washington St. with 207 residential units (a third of which will be affordable housing), and 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail space reserved for minority-owned businesses. 

Finally, Vermella (355) Broad Street will feature works of local artists and play host to diverse neighborhood creative events in the street-level public gallery space of the 296-unit apartment building less than 500 feet from Newark Penn Station. 

Nonprofit and Municipal Space

Kerri Levine, principal at Fidelco Realty Group, says the renovation of 550 Broad Street is the most recent example of the company’s ongoing commitment to Newark, with tenants of the 300,000-square-foot historic office building now including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Victoria Foundation, the Wight Foundation, Local Initiatives Support Corp., Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson and Union Counties. 

Dunn says Paramount Assets took a similar approach at 375 McCarter Hwy. by filling its 151,032 square feet with municipal, government, and nonprofit entities.

A Fervent Focus on the Arts

This year, Newark created the city’s first Office for Film and Television Production, unveiled the Newark Alliance’s “Festivals United” coalition comprising some of the city’s premier annual events in the Arts and Education District and the Newark City Parks Foundation, and announced the opening of the 12-acre, 300,000-square-foot Great Point Studios with Lionsgate in the South Ward. 

And at the helm of it all is Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), which is also in the middle of a multi-phase, $336 million campus redevelopment anticipated to be completed in 2027. 

Tim Lizura, executive vice president of real estate and capital projects at NJPAC, explains that the center’s “aggressive and visionary approach” to increasing the activity and energy in Downtown Newark all started with the success of One Theater Square, NJPAC’s 245-unit residential building that has been 97% occupied since its creation in 2018. 

The first phase of the new project – a redesign of Chambers Plaza and the addition of Essex County Green – commenced in April and is expected to be finished early 2025. 

ArtSide, NJPAC’s mixed-use 350-unit residential tower, will feature more than 3,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, 20% affordable housing, and headquarters for WBGO, the nation’s premier jazz public radio station. 

Finally, NJPAC’s 58,000-square-foot Leon Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center will house all free and lower-cost arts education programs while also providing two rehearsal suites and a 175-seat Black Box studio theater. 

Reimagining Newark 

Be prepared for Newark to continue to look a lot different over the next couple of years, with multiple capital projects planned for construction citywide. 

For example, following the closure of Iberia Restaurant and Tavern and the sale of land between Market and Ferry streets, the construction of four mixed-use high-rises – two 26 stories and two 30 stories – will hold 1,400 residential units and 23,000 square feet of retail space. 

“This is a transformational project that will bring with it affordable housing, updated infrastructure, new jobs, new retail, and convenient parking to an area in which people are shopping, dining, and recreating,” Baglivo comments.

University Hospital will also begin the nearly ten-year construction of its $1.8 billion Facility Master Plan in 2025. 

“To ensure patients have the space, staff, and access to technology they need, we must increase square footage,” comments Jimenez.

The plan calls for the creation of a new tower, a replacement medical office building, and a parking garage, and the deconstruction of multiple structures and single-story trailers. 

Business & Innovation

Since headquartering in Newark in 2007, Audible has generated more than $775 million in annual economic activity by working closely with local stakeholders to make the city more equitable and prosperous for all. 

In 2016, company founder and executive chairman Don Katz created Newark Venture Partners to invest in high-growth startups and has since invested more than $55 million in over 100 portfolio companies – more than half of which are founded by women or people of color. 

Audible then launched its Business Attraction Program in August 2023 to further drive economic growth. 

Fifteen companies – including Equal Space, a 50,000-plus-square-foot, multi-floor shared workspace at 550 Broad Street – have joined the program since 2023. 

“Our program is a scalable model to drive economic growth and can be adopted by other companies seeking to make a tangible impact in the cities they call home,” Aisha Glover says. 

Hundreds of new businesses are expected to flock to Newark following the opening of Equal Space and SOSV’s HAX at 707 Broad Street, a startup development program for pre-seed hard-tech companies. 

The new global headquarters will anchor a $50 million project that is expected to help develop 100 new tech startups over the next five years, bringing millions of dollars of capital to New Jersey’s largest city. 

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