Newark’s renaissance received another prospective boost Monday as SJP Properties and Aetna Realty announced a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use development project on the former Westinghouse property adjacent to Broad Street Station.
The development would potentially include office, retail, hotel and residential components on 3.7 acres in the North Broad Street District, according to a news release. It would be anchored by a large public plaza intended to catalyze the area around University Avenue and Orange Street, while connecting to the New Jersey Transit commuter and light rail services at the station.
“Creating ‘transit villages’ around both of our train stations is a high priority for my administration,” Mayor Ras Baraka said in a prepared statement. “This strategy increases public transportation ridership, reduces automobile air pollution and creates more affordable housing and vital new neighborhoods. Redevelopment of the former Westinghouse site accomplishes these goals.
“It will accelerate the momentum underway with development around the Broad Street Station and be an important part of the smart development propelling Newark’s attraction as a national business hub.”
SJP, with offices in Parsippany and New York, and Aetna, based in New York, have hired the architecture and planning firm Gensler, also based in New York, to design the development.
Newark’s plan has been to remake the North Broad Street District into a tech and business corridor.
“Under the leadership of Mayor Baraka, Newark has definitively established itself as a city on the rise, with a growing number of corporations realizing that Newark offers exceptional access to a highly skilled workforce, and accessibility via a robust public transit network and direct access to the (Interstate) 280 corridor,” Steven J. Pozycki, CEO of SJP Properties, said in a statement. “This redevelopment site presents a unique opportunity for companies looking to position themselves within the booming North Broad Street District, directly across the Midtown Direct train line and among the numerous cultural, educational and retail opportunities that downtown Newark has to offer.”
The project joins other noteworthy development in the city, including the One Theater Square and One Rector Street residential towers, the Mulberry Commons project and redevelopment of the former Hahne & Co. building, among many others.
“We have long recognized the redevelopment potential of the former Westinghouse site, and saw SJP Properties as the ideal partner to deliver a world-class development that will attract the right mix of high-quality tenants to this area of downtown Newark,” Aetna Realty’s David Braka said in a statement. “This property’s exceptional transit-oriented location positions it as one of the best development opportunities in a city currently experiencing an unprecedented revitalization.”
According to the developers, companies that locate to the property will be eligible for New Jersey Economic Development Authority incentives, such as the Grow New Jersey program.
