Newark88
Superstar
Word! Free unk!
"BRICK CITY" THE OFFICIAL NEWARK DISCUSSION THREAD
- Thread starter Newark88
- Start date
feelosofer
#ninergang
Oh shyt for real? I heard rumors about the Barcade, but I didn't know this was happening for real.
Newark88
Superstar
Word. As I said, this city is going to be turn up (gentrification wise) in the next 3 to 5 years.
Them lil project back there are slept on especially since they in the iron bound, my uncle owned a liquor store right in those PJs and it's one of the most dangerous places I can ever remember going to
his first book is a must read
Newark88
Superstar
I'm a lil tight Obama never gave him a pardon
shhh-kull & bones
Judah have I loved, Esau have I hated! -GAWD
well Iam all in...as a Brooklyn expat I have come to appreciate Newark....I do believe the upside is tremendous
only two things Im hoping for--- 1-that more of our positive minded and upward mobile brothers and sisters are still around in 5-10 years
2--that Newark doesn't get too overcrowded with dusty stranglers like nyc--- cause the potential is there for that to happen seeing that Newark is due for a renaissance---that means cats will be popping out the woodwork to jump on the bandwagon when things get good
But in the meanwhile what do you think Newark as a city can do to re brand itself?
Will the violent stats keep folks away for long or will there be more folks moving in anyway?
Newark88
Superstar
Negative stigma (murder, crimes, poverty) aside, Newark's biggest strength was always community life. Everything is so intertwined here. You always had the politicians mixing in with the common people, street folks mixing in with the regular 9 to 5'ers. My imo, the city should should re brand itself based on the family/community vibe you get, even as dysfunctional as it maybe. That's why Newark never cared for outside people from city coming in and butting in our affairs. Because for the largest city in Jersey, it's very close knit.
Newark88
Superstar
Hahne's building opening celebrated as a sign of Newark's rebirth
NEWARK -- Taking her turn among the VIP's welcoming the old Hahne & Co. building back to life as a mixed-use enclave of apartments, shops and educational space, Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor said the store had been a pillar of what she called the "social infrastructure" of the state's largest city.
"So many people have stopped me to say that they had their holiday photos taken in this place," said Cantor, who was speaking during a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday in the four-story atrium of the 115-year-old building, which has been rebuilt as a public space.
One of those people was Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, a Newark native who used to go with his family to Hahne's, not to shop -- it was too expensive -- but to have their picture taken and to take in the holiday decorations.
"It was the place to be," DiVincenzo said.
Hahne's closed its doors in 1987, and had stood vacant ever since as a reminder of both a more prosperous era in Newark's history and the city's inability to recapture its faded luster.
But on Monday, city, state and federal officials, developers, investors and hundreds of others gathered to proclaim the Hahne building's second life, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that culminated with a shower of silver confetti from the balcony section of the atrium.
Rutgers-Newark will have a presence in the form of Express Newark, an arts collaborative and incubator, which is already open inside the building.
The space will be open to the public starting Tuesday, when the block-long, 24-hour atrium will open with entrances at both ends, as a link between the university section on its Halsey Street side and the rest of downtown on Broad Street.
Speakers included Mayor Ras Baraka and his predecessor, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, who both supported the project, along with representatives of Goldman Sachs, Prudential Financial, Citi Community Capital, which helped to finance the $174 million project. There were also officials of New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Company and the state Economic Development Authority, public partners in the project.
12 projects that will change the face of Newark
As prices soar along N.J.'s Hudson River Gold Coast to the east, thousands of housing units and square footage of commercial space are underway or planned in the state's largest city
The event was hosted by Jon Cortell, a vice president for L+M Development Partners, the developer of the project. Standing before a grand staircase in the atrium, with ornate iron railings, columns and brass light fixtures set below a vaulting skylight, Cortell addressed a crowd of at least 800 well-wishers.
"At no point did we ever question the utter beauty of this building," Cortell told the seated and standing crowd. "That said, it has never looked better than it does today."
Baraka said he was "ecstatic about what's happening here today."
The project includes 160 apartments, 65 of them affordable units, space for shops, a restaurant and bank, and the city's first Whole Foods.
Booker said it was "profound" that 40 percent of the units were affordable.
The ribbon-cutting came a year and a half after city officials, developers, and investors broke ground on the development, which retains much of the old Hahne's brick exterior.
Though much of the building had fallen into decay, the developers were able to save some of the original steel to use in the new development, and included architectural elements that harken back to the store's lavish heyday, according to Ommeed Sathe, a vice president at Prudential who heads the company's involvement in the project. Prudential invested about $50 million into the project.
About 20 percent of the market rate units have been rented, according to Cortell, who said and residents are expected to begin moving in Feb. 1. The rest of the apartment units should be rented by mid-March, he said.
The Whole Foods is expected to open this winter, and the other retailers in the building, which include a new restaurant concept from celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, plus a Barnes and Noble Rutgers bookstore, are expected to open sometime this year.
Samuelsson was among the speakers at the ribbon cutting.
"Our goal is to work with the local farmers, and to work with the local farmer's market here," the chef said of the weekly produce market at Military Park, just across Broad Street. "The building is beautiful. The history is beautiful."
NEWARK -- Taking her turn among the VIP's welcoming the old Hahne & Co. building back to life as a mixed-use enclave of apartments, shops and educational space, Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor said the store had been a pillar of what she called the "social infrastructure" of the state's largest city.
"So many people have stopped me to say that they had their holiday photos taken in this place," said Cantor, who was speaking during a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday in the four-story atrium of the 115-year-old building, which has been rebuilt as a public space.
One of those people was Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, a Newark native who used to go with his family to Hahne's, not to shop -- it was too expensive -- but to have their picture taken and to take in the holiday decorations.
"It was the place to be," DiVincenzo said.
Hahne's closed its doors in 1987, and had stood vacant ever since as a reminder of both a more prosperous era in Newark's history and the city's inability to recapture its faded luster.
But on Monday, city, state and federal officials, developers, investors and hundreds of others gathered to proclaim the Hahne building's second life, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that culminated with a shower of silver confetti from the balcony section of the atrium.
Rutgers-Newark will have a presence in the form of Express Newark, an arts collaborative and incubator, which is already open inside the building.
The space will be open to the public starting Tuesday, when the block-long, 24-hour atrium will open with entrances at both ends, as a link between the university section on its Halsey Street side and the rest of downtown on Broad Street.
Speakers included Mayor Ras Baraka and his predecessor, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, who both supported the project, along with representatives of Goldman Sachs, Prudential Financial, Citi Community Capital, which helped to finance the $174 million project. There were also officials of New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Company and the state Economic Development Authority, public partners in the project.
12 projects that will change the face of Newark
As prices soar along N.J.'s Hudson River Gold Coast to the east, thousands of housing units and square footage of commercial space are underway or planned in the state's largest city
The event was hosted by Jon Cortell, a vice president for L+M Development Partners, the developer of the project. Standing before a grand staircase in the atrium, with ornate iron railings, columns and brass light fixtures set below a vaulting skylight, Cortell addressed a crowd of at least 800 well-wishers.
"At no point did we ever question the utter beauty of this building," Cortell told the seated and standing crowd. "That said, it has never looked better than it does today."
Baraka said he was "ecstatic about what's happening here today."
The project includes 160 apartments, 65 of them affordable units, space for shops, a restaurant and bank, and the city's first Whole Foods.
Booker said it was "profound" that 40 percent of the units were affordable.
The ribbon-cutting came a year and a half after city officials, developers, and investors broke ground on the development, which retains much of the old Hahne's brick exterior.
Though much of the building had fallen into decay, the developers were able to save some of the original steel to use in the new development, and included architectural elements that harken back to the store's lavish heyday, according to Ommeed Sathe, a vice president at Prudential who heads the company's involvement in the project. Prudential invested about $50 million into the project.
About 20 percent of the market rate units have been rented, according to Cortell, who said and residents are expected to begin moving in Feb. 1. The rest of the apartment units should be rented by mid-March, he said.
The Whole Foods is expected to open this winter, and the other retailers in the building, which include a new restaurant concept from celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, plus a Barnes and Noble Rutgers bookstore, are expected to open sometime this year.
Samuelsson was among the speakers at the ribbon cutting.
"Our goal is to work with the local farmers, and to work with the local farmer's market here," the chef said of the weekly produce market at Military Park, just across Broad Street. "The building is beautiful. The history is beautiful."
Newark88
Superstar
Will Newark Become The New Brooklyn?
Newark, NJ is getting some new amenities, including one 22-acre real estate project downtown (with its own High Line, sort of) and a mixed retail/residential complex that includes a Whole Foods and a Barnes & Noble. These are welcome developments in a long-suffering city, but some locals are concerned the changes will drive up rents, making life difficult for longtime residents while young newcomers theoretically transform Newark into its own Brooklyn.
Last month, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced two major revitalization projects. The first, Mulberry Commons, is a 22-acre public-private redevelopment project that will connect the city's popular Ironbound neighborhood to Newark Penn Station via a raised pedestrian bridge—the $110 million development will also include a 3-acre park, residences, and retail space. Developers have seemingly modeled the project after the High Line, which brought businesses, tourism and residences to Manhattan's West Side. "Mulberry Commons is the catalyst we’re waiting for, the catalyst to raise the value of property and also bring people to an essential location of the city where they can hang out, live and play,” Baraka said of the development when it was announced.
The second project involves the redevelopment of the old Hahne & Co. department store—the building had been vacant since 1987, but reopened as public space at the end of January, with a Whole Foods expected to open this winter, along with a Barnes & Noble Rutgers bookstore and a new restaurant helmed by Red Rooster's Marcus Samuelsson. The development will also include residential apartments, 40 percent of which have been set aside as affordable units.
Baraka's excited about the new projects, but according to WNYC, the developments are raising concerns that lifelong residents will be pushed out in favor of wealthier newcomers. The outlet interviewed a number of locals expressing fear of gentrification. One such interviewee, lifelong resident Alikah Green, 26, told the station she's happy the mayor is fixing the city. "It looked like a dump, like two, three years ago. I come downtown now, I see Whole Foods down there. I'm like 'wow, they got Chipotle, Whole Foods.'"
But she also noted that newer residents have higher paying jobs at Panasonic and Prudential than longtime locals. The median household income was only $30,966 in 2015, as opposed to $72,222 in the rest of the state, and the average gross rent was $978. Though Baraka announced at the Hahnes opening that, "We'll all be included" in Newark's revitalization, the market-rate price of a new loft downtown starts around $2,000/month. "I would love to move in one of those apartments downtown," Green told WNYC. "The cost of rent is going to be so high, so I'm not sure."
In 2016, Newark's crime rate was at the lowest it's been since 1967, though its rate of violent crime per 100,000 residents is still about 25 percent higher than the national average. Still, for folks looking for lower rent, it's not a terrible commute to Manhattan—it takes about 30 minutes to get from downtown Newark to Manhattan, or 18 to 22 minutes via rail transit.
Newark, NJ is getting some new amenities, including one 22-acre real estate project downtown (with its own High Line, sort of) and a mixed retail/residential complex that includes a Whole Foods and a Barnes & Noble. These are welcome developments in a long-suffering city, but some locals are concerned the changes will drive up rents, making life difficult for longtime residents while young newcomers theoretically transform Newark into its own Brooklyn.
Last month, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced two major revitalization projects. The first, Mulberry Commons, is a 22-acre public-private redevelopment project that will connect the city's popular Ironbound neighborhood to Newark Penn Station via a raised pedestrian bridge—the $110 million development will also include a 3-acre park, residences, and retail space. Developers have seemingly modeled the project after the High Line, which brought businesses, tourism and residences to Manhattan's West Side. "Mulberry Commons is the catalyst we’re waiting for, the catalyst to raise the value of property and also bring people to an essential location of the city where they can hang out, live and play,” Baraka said of the development when it was announced.
The second project involves the redevelopment of the old Hahne & Co. department store—the building had been vacant since 1987, but reopened as public space at the end of January, with a Whole Foods expected to open this winter, along with a Barnes & Noble Rutgers bookstore and a new restaurant helmed by Red Rooster's Marcus Samuelsson. The development will also include residential apartments, 40 percent of which have been set aside as affordable units.
Baraka's excited about the new projects, but according to WNYC, the developments are raising concerns that lifelong residents will be pushed out in favor of wealthier newcomers. The outlet interviewed a number of locals expressing fear of gentrification. One such interviewee, lifelong resident Alikah Green, 26, told the station she's happy the mayor is fixing the city. "It looked like a dump, like two, three years ago. I come downtown now, I see Whole Foods down there. I'm like 'wow, they got Chipotle, Whole Foods.'"
But she also noted that newer residents have higher paying jobs at Panasonic and Prudential than longtime locals. The median household income was only $30,966 in 2015, as opposed to $72,222 in the rest of the state, and the average gross rent was $978. Though Baraka announced at the Hahnes opening that, "We'll all be included" in Newark's revitalization, the market-rate price of a new loft downtown starts around $2,000/month. "I would love to move in one of those apartments downtown," Green told WNYC. "The cost of rent is going to be so high, so I'm not sure."
In 2016, Newark's crime rate was at the lowest it's been since 1967, though its rate of violent crime per 100,000 residents is still about 25 percent higher than the national average. Still, for folks looking for lower rent, it's not a terrible commute to Manhattan—it takes about 30 minutes to get from downtown Newark to Manhattan, or 18 to 22 minutes via rail transit.
Newark88
Superstar
Grammy Museum Experience Coming to Prudential Center in Newark
The Grammy Museum Experience is coming to the East Coast. In a collaboration with the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live and the Prudential Center, the Grammy Museum Experience Prudential Center is expected to open in Newark, N.J. in the fall of 2017. The new venture will be the first official Grammy Museum outpost on the East Coast, with a significant section devoted to the region's hometown heroes, including Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston.
The announcement was made during a press conference in Newark attended by Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli, Prudential Center co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, and Prudential Center CEO Scott O'Neil on Tuesday morning (Feb. 7).
“As a New Jersey native who’s grown up with artists like Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen, both of whom put this state on the map, I am thrilled to partner with the Prudential Center to bring the GRAMMY Museum Experience to Newark,” said Santelli in a statement. “This is where my love for music started, and this is also where my career started, so I’m most looking forward to the opportunities this will afford the young people and students of New Jersey.”
READ MORE
Katy Perry Will Perform at the Grammy Awards
The Newark Grammy Experience wil feature 8,200 feet of exhibit space filled with interactive features, tributes to local icons and an education center. “We are excited to welcome the Grammy Museum Experience to Newark and the Garden State,” said Harris, co-managing owner of the Prudential Center, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers. “This Museum captures the passion, spirit and history of the most iconic names in music, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring a platform to the Prudential Center that is fun, educational and inspiring."
The Grammy Museum Experience is coming to the East Coast. In a collaboration with the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live and the Prudential Center, the Grammy Museum Experience Prudential Center is expected to open in Newark, N.J. in the fall of 2017. The new venture will be the first official Grammy Museum outpost on the East Coast, with a significant section devoted to the region's hometown heroes, including Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston.
The announcement was made during a press conference in Newark attended by Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli, Prudential Center co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, and Prudential Center CEO Scott O'Neil on Tuesday morning (Feb. 7).
“As a New Jersey native who’s grown up with artists like Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen, both of whom put this state on the map, I am thrilled to partner with the Prudential Center to bring the GRAMMY Museum Experience to Newark,” said Santelli in a statement. “This is where my love for music started, and this is also where my career started, so I’m most looking forward to the opportunities this will afford the young people and students of New Jersey.”
READ MORE
Katy Perry Will Perform at the Grammy Awards
The Newark Grammy Experience wil feature 8,200 feet of exhibit space filled with interactive features, tributes to local icons and an education center. “We are excited to welcome the Grammy Museum Experience to Newark and the Garden State,” said Harris, co-managing owner of the Prudential Center, New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers. “This Museum captures the passion, spirit and history of the most iconic names in music, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring a platform to the Prudential Center that is fun, educational and inspiring."
Newark88
Superstar
A High Line Plan Emerges in Newark, N.J.
A High Line Plan Emerges in Newark, N.J.
Abandoned railroad tracks on the future site of Mulberry Commons in downtown Newark, N.J. PHOTO: AGATON STROM FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By
KEIKO MORRIS
Feb. 5, 2017 8:17 p.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
A former skeptic of the High Line walkway on Manhattan’s West Side is now one of the biggest advocates of a similar project across the Hudson River.
Jerry Gottesman, chairman of Edison Properties LLC, a real estate company and parking-lot and self-storage giant, was once a vocal skeptic of efforts to convert the abandoned freight rail line on the West Side into a landscaped promenade. The project attracts more than 7.5 million people a year.
Now, Mr. Gottesman is an advocate of a similar elevated promenade in Newark, N.J.
A raised pedestrian bridge is one of the signature features of a 22-acre public-private redevelopment project called Mulberry Commons, unveiled by the city of Newark and developers last month.
Although the bridge won’t be built on old railroad tracks, like the High Line is, it will connect neighborhoods, creating a pathway linking the city’s Ironbound neighborhood, a former industrial section known for its ethnic mix, restaurants and shops, with Newark Penn Station and a planned 3-acre park surrounded by commercial and residential development in front of the downtown Prudential Center.
Edison Properties’ $80 million conversion of a vacant warehouse to retail and loft-style office space will sit in the middle of Mulberry Commons at one end of the raised promenade. The bridge and park will be designed by Sage and Coombe Architects, with the park expected to be completed by late summer in 2018.
A rendering of Mulberry Commons Park, with Newark Penn Station in the background. PHOTO:PERKINS EASTMAN
The park will replace an existing parking lot in the city’s downtown. PHOTO: AGATON STROM FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The hope is that the public open space would do for Newark what the High Line helped do for Manhattan’s West Side: spur further development, raise property values and bring more foot traffic and residents.
“Mulberry Commons is the catalyst we’re waiting for, the catalyst to raise the value of property and also bring people to an essential location of the city where they can hang out, live and play,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
In a statement, Mr. Gottesman said: “Edison Properties has been a strong believer in Newark for decades, and now we are delighted to play a major role in its resurgence.”
His embrace of the High Line happened over many years. Edison Properties executives said a key turning point was rezoning, which allowed for greater density on certain parcels and the transfer of development rights that added value to surrounding properties.
Before Friends of the High Line, the organization that led the conversion of the tracks to public open space, came on the scene, Mr. Gottesman and about two dozen property owners had long been lobbying for the dilapidated rail line to be demolished. He was known to have his staff mail to elected officials pieces of debris that had fallen from the tracks onto his property.
Even after the two co-founders of Friends of the High Line launched their quest, Mr. Gottesman was skeptical there would be enough funding, said Benjamin Feigenbaum, chief operating officer of Edison Properties.
But the High Line quickly proved to be a success. Friends of the High Line estimates the park will generate $1 billion in tax revenue for the city over 20 years.
In 2015, Newark-based Edison, which Mr. Gottesman and his late brother started in the 1950s, sold an entire block site in Chelsea with the High Line running through it for $870 million, far more than it paid for it in the 1980s.
The Mulberry Commons development is the result of more than a decade of complicated land exchanges involving Edison and J&L Cos., another Newark developer committed to developing two sites in the project.
MORE IN N.Y. REAL ESTATE
“The High Line has made people think of how public space can be used to connect places,” said Robert Hammond, co-founder and executive director of Friends of the High Line.
Edison Properties owns six sites surrounding the planned Mulberry Commons Park, including a large vacant 110-year-old warehouse. Edison is investing another $20 million in the park and bridge, which essentially serve as the front door to its warehouse-conversion project, now called Ironside Newark.
“We considered all options, including tearing it down until we started seeing what other people were doing with old warehouse buildings,” said Robert Selsam, chairman of Edison’s board.
A High Line Plan Emerges in Newark, N.J.
Abandoned railroad tracks on the future site of Mulberry Commons in downtown Newark, N.J. PHOTO: AGATON STROM FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By
KEIKO MORRIS
Feb. 5, 2017 8:17 p.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
A former skeptic of the High Line walkway on Manhattan’s West Side is now one of the biggest advocates of a similar project across the Hudson River.
Jerry Gottesman, chairman of Edison Properties LLC, a real estate company and parking-lot and self-storage giant, was once a vocal skeptic of efforts to convert the abandoned freight rail line on the West Side into a landscaped promenade. The project attracts more than 7.5 million people a year.
Now, Mr. Gottesman is an advocate of a similar elevated promenade in Newark, N.J.
A raised pedestrian bridge is one of the signature features of a 22-acre public-private redevelopment project called Mulberry Commons, unveiled by the city of Newark and developers last month.
Although the bridge won’t be built on old railroad tracks, like the High Line is, it will connect neighborhoods, creating a pathway linking the city’s Ironbound neighborhood, a former industrial section known for its ethnic mix, restaurants and shops, with Newark Penn Station and a planned 3-acre park surrounded by commercial and residential development in front of the downtown Prudential Center.
Edison Properties’ $80 million conversion of a vacant warehouse to retail and loft-style office space will sit in the middle of Mulberry Commons at one end of the raised promenade. The bridge and park will be designed by Sage and Coombe Architects, with the park expected to be completed by late summer in 2018.
A rendering of Mulberry Commons Park, with Newark Penn Station in the background. PHOTO:PERKINS EASTMAN
The park will replace an existing parking lot in the city’s downtown. PHOTO: AGATON STROM FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The hope is that the public open space would do for Newark what the High Line helped do for Manhattan’s West Side: spur further development, raise property values and bring more foot traffic and residents.
“Mulberry Commons is the catalyst we’re waiting for, the catalyst to raise the value of property and also bring people to an essential location of the city where they can hang out, live and play,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
In a statement, Mr. Gottesman said: “Edison Properties has been a strong believer in Newark for decades, and now we are delighted to play a major role in its resurgence.”
His embrace of the High Line happened over many years. Edison Properties executives said a key turning point was rezoning, which allowed for greater density on certain parcels and the transfer of development rights that added value to surrounding properties.
Before Friends of the High Line, the organization that led the conversion of the tracks to public open space, came on the scene, Mr. Gottesman and about two dozen property owners had long been lobbying for the dilapidated rail line to be demolished. He was known to have his staff mail to elected officials pieces of debris that had fallen from the tracks onto his property.
Even after the two co-founders of Friends of the High Line launched their quest, Mr. Gottesman was skeptical there would be enough funding, said Benjamin Feigenbaum, chief operating officer of Edison Properties.
But the High Line quickly proved to be a success. Friends of the High Line estimates the park will generate $1 billion in tax revenue for the city over 20 years.
In 2015, Newark-based Edison, which Mr. Gottesman and his late brother started in the 1950s, sold an entire block site in Chelsea with the High Line running through it for $870 million, far more than it paid for it in the 1980s.
The Mulberry Commons development is the result of more than a decade of complicated land exchanges involving Edison and J&L Cos., another Newark developer committed to developing two sites in the project.
MORE IN N.Y. REAL ESTATE
- Property Watch: Manhattan Office Tower Gets New Name Feb. 5, 2017
- New York Rent Rules Face Court TestFeb. 1, 2017
- Returning a 19th-Century Building to Its Original Glory Feb. 1, 2017
- Converting a Palace of the Past Into Luxury Condos Feb. 1, 2017
“The High Line has made people think of how public space can be used to connect places,” said Robert Hammond, co-founder and executive director of Friends of the High Line.
Edison Properties owns six sites surrounding the planned Mulberry Commons Park, including a large vacant 110-year-old warehouse. Edison is investing another $20 million in the park and bridge, which essentially serve as the front door to its warehouse-conversion project, now called Ironside Newark.
“We considered all options, including tearing it down until we started seeing what other people were doing with old warehouse buildings,” said Robert Selsam, chairman of Edison’s board.
Newark88
Superstar
Newark88
Superstar
Queen Latifah Backed Development Project Moves Forward In Newark
An old rendering of the project | via Newark CEDC
Jersey Digs reported last September that Dana Elaine Owens, best known as Queen Latifah, is proposing a project called Rita Gardens for the Springfield Avenue corridor in Newark’s South Ward. Now, plans for the project are moving forward.
According to a legal notice, 650 Springfield Ave, LLC has applied to the Newark Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) for variances regarding the two-building project. One of the buildings is slated to be a four-story mixed-use structure with 59 residential units and 28 surface parking spaces, while the other is set to be five stories tall and will 56 residential units, with 30 parking spaces provided in a garage on the ground floor.
A presentation published by the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation in 2016 stated that GS Developers and Queen Latifah were behind the project. A source familiar with the development, who request anonymity, confirmed to Jersey Digs that GonSosa Development of Union County, which is listed on its website as being affiliated with GS Developers, will partner with Queen Latifah for the project. According to the source, the buildings will also include a theater room, a community room, a fitness center, a patio area, and free Wi-Fi for residents when completed in 2018.
Records from the State of New Jersey show that 650 Springfield Ave, LLC was registered in February 2016 out of Monmouth Junction, a small Middlesex County community where Queen Latifah owns a house, according to Variety.
The development proposal calls for developing the buildings on several lots, including 650-656 Springfield Avenue and 718-722 South 17th Street, many of which are vacant and currently owned by the City of Newark. However, a few of the tracts are owned by the Blue Sugar Corporation, according to city records, which is registered out of the same Monmouth Junction address as Queen Latifah, Inc.
The properties are located near the Irvington border, just a few blocks from West Side Park and the recently-opened Save-A-Lot supermarket. NJ Transit’s go25 express bus service to Newark Penn Station and the Irvington Bus Terminal serves the area, in addition to Bus 25 to Maplewood and Bus 96 to Roseville and Chancellor Avenues.
An Essex County native, Queen Latifah was born in Newark, and was raised in neighboring East Orange. She attended Shiloh Baptist Church in Bloomfield, according to New Jersey Monthly, and graduated from Irvington High School, where her mother, Rita Owens, was a teacher. Whether or not Rita Gardens is named for Owens is not yet clear. Latifah’s Flavor Unit production company was headquartered in Jersey City for nearly 20 years before relocating to Florida.
Representatives from GonSosa Construction and Development and Queen Latifah did not return requests for comment. The Newark ZBA will hear the proposal during its meeting on Thursday, February 23rd at 7:00pm at City Hall.
Queen Latifah Backed Development Project Moves Forward In Newark
An old rendering of the project | via Newark CEDC
Jersey Digs reported last September that Dana Elaine Owens, best known as Queen Latifah, is proposing a project called Rita Gardens for the Springfield Avenue corridor in Newark’s South Ward. Now, plans for the project are moving forward.
According to a legal notice, 650 Springfield Ave, LLC has applied to the Newark Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) for variances regarding the two-building project. One of the buildings is slated to be a four-story mixed-use structure with 59 residential units and 28 surface parking spaces, while the other is set to be five stories tall and will 56 residential units, with 30 parking spaces provided in a garage on the ground floor.
A presentation published by the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation in 2016 stated that GS Developers and Queen Latifah were behind the project. A source familiar with the development, who request anonymity, confirmed to Jersey Digs that GonSosa Development of Union County, which is listed on its website as being affiliated with GS Developers, will partner with Queen Latifah for the project. According to the source, the buildings will also include a theater room, a community room, a fitness center, a patio area, and free Wi-Fi for residents when completed in 2018.
Records from the State of New Jersey show that 650 Springfield Ave, LLC was registered in February 2016 out of Monmouth Junction, a small Middlesex County community where Queen Latifah owns a house, according to Variety.
The development proposal calls for developing the buildings on several lots, including 650-656 Springfield Avenue and 718-722 South 17th Street, many of which are vacant and currently owned by the City of Newark. However, a few of the tracts are owned by the Blue Sugar Corporation, according to city records, which is registered out of the same Monmouth Junction address as Queen Latifah, Inc.
The properties are located near the Irvington border, just a few blocks from West Side Park and the recently-opened Save-A-Lot supermarket. NJ Transit’s go25 express bus service to Newark Penn Station and the Irvington Bus Terminal serves the area, in addition to Bus 25 to Maplewood and Bus 96 to Roseville and Chancellor Avenues.
An Essex County native, Queen Latifah was born in Newark, and was raised in neighboring East Orange. She attended Shiloh Baptist Church in Bloomfield, according to New Jersey Monthly, and graduated from Irvington High School, where her mother, Rita Owens, was a teacher. Whether or not Rita Gardens is named for Owens is not yet clear. Latifah’s Flavor Unit production company was headquartered in Jersey City for nearly 20 years before relocating to Florida.
Representatives from GonSosa Construction and Development and Queen Latifah did not return requests for comment. The Newark ZBA will hear the proposal during its meeting on Thursday, February 23rd at 7:00pm at City Hall.
Queen Latifah Backed Development Project Moves Forward In Newark