The $336 million project that the New Jersey Performing Arts Center broke ground on Wednesday morning was hailed as a transformational step for Newark, one that will bring the downtown hundreds of new residences, along with shops, restaurants, new outdoor gathering spaces and a unique education and community center with professional rehearsal spaces.
To be sure, it was a monumental day in development for the city.
But the reimagined 12-acre campus, scheduled to be completed in fall 2027, is about more than just bricks and mortar — or even the new road (an extension of Mulberry Street) that will be part of the area. It’s about reclaiming the soul and spirit of the city.
“The streets of Newark have always been steeped in the arts,” Mayor Ras Baraka said. “This is a city where jazz and hip-hop are in the breeze, and every wall without a mural is just a canvas no one’s yet claimed.
“The new neighborhood around NJPAC will fully embrace that dynamic spirit, bringing more housing, stores and gathering places to our already-lively downtown. And, one of the highest notes of all will be the new headquarters for our city’s iconic jazz station, WBGO.”
The three-year project will include the establishment of ArtSide, a new mixed-use, mixed-income residential development designed by architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill.
It will include 350 rental units and retail and cultural spaces — including WBGO’s new home — along the extension of Mulberry Street, on what is now NJPAC’s Parking Lot A. A full 20% of the residential units in the development will consist of affordable housing.
The reimagined campus also will include the 58,000-square-foot Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center, designed by Weiss/Manfredi. It will be built on the site of Parking Lot C and will serve as a dynamic hub where students, community partners and artists can gather, learn and create.
A dynamic redesign of NJPAC’s front yard, Chambers Plaza, and the addition of a new space, Essex County Green, to the arts center’s campus, will create a four-season urban park. Landscape architecture studio Future Green created the design for the new Chambers Plaza.
There’s more: Newark’s OCA Architects will design renovations of 31 Mulberry St., an existing building NJPAC recently acquired adjacent to the site of the Cooperman Center. The building will house additional spaces for community gatherings, plus educational and office spaces for the arts center. NJPAC’s eastern façade, certain interiors and loading docks will also be redesigned.
Gov. Phil Murphy gushed at what the project means.
“NJPAC’s campus redevelopment is more than a construction project; it’s a powerful investment in Newark’s communities and future,” he said. “This initiative will not only provide more housing and commercial spaces, but also create vibrant cultural and educational opportunities that will enrich the lives of Newark residents for generations to come. I’m proud to support this transformative project that embodies the spirit of creativity and inclusivity that is at the heart of our state.”
NJPAC CEO John Schreiber couldn’t agree more.
“Newark is a city rich in history and possibilities, and NJPAC’s role as an active, engaged and productive anchor cultural institution in its future is an extraordinarily exciting one,” he said. “We’re grateful beyond measure to the remarkable coalition of partners, both public and private, who have collaborated with us to make this new neighborhood an exciting reality.”
Among the partners who have joined in the planning and development of campus redevelopment include:
- The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which granted the project $200 million in tax credits under the Transformative Aspire Program.
- Prudential Financial, which facilitated the master planning of the campus redesign and financed NJPAC’s predevelopment needs.
- Liberty Mutual, which committed to investing across the capital stack as both an Aspire tax credit investor and a limited partner.
- Citi Community Capital, which spearheaded construction lending and low-income housing tax credit investing for the project.
- TD Bank, which provided NJPAC with New Markets Tax Credit allocation for the Cooperman Center construction and a tax-exempt bond for other campus improvements.
- Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., and the county of Essex, who supported the redesign of campus outdoor spaces.
- Siree Morris, co-development partner and managing director of MCI Collective.
- New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency and Freddie Mac, which provided permanent loan commitments.
- New Jersey Community Capital, which provided support in New Market Tax Credits.
- LMXD, which partnered with NJPAC to manage design, approvals and financing for the project.
Of course, arts projects such as this can only get to the finish line with philanthropic support from major donors, who contributed to the arts center’s $244 million Capital Campaign.
Most notable were Leon and Toby Cooperman and the Cooperman family, who made a foundational gift to the construction of the Cooperman Center, which will headquarter NJPAC’s Arts Education, Arts & Well-Being and Community Engagement initiatives.
A self-made man, Cooperman said all his efforts are based on using financial success to help others achieve their American dream — before dropping the best line of Wednesday’s event.
“I’m at a stage my life where I’m swapping money for apparel: This hat cost me $20 million,” he said to laughter.
On a serious note, Cooperman said he firmly believes the center has a unique opportunity to contribute to Newark’s future.
It will do so with a nod to the past — and a look to the future, both of which are uniquely Newark.
Baraka thanked Schreiber for acknowledging part of the project will be built on a lot that sits atop an African burial ground
“It’s important for us to remember that … as we create another iteration of what happens here on this parking lot that sits atop graves of people who were bought and sold in this area as enslaved Africans,” he said.
Baraka noted his family history of activism.
“It wouldn’t be right if I gave remarks here and not paid homage and tribute and lift the names of the spirit of ancestors who are under this ground because of the unjust, triangular trade that took place in this part of the world.”
State Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark), in a mic drop moment, acknowledged that so many people and organizations came together for a greater purpose: Newark.
“I’m here as a mother of a daughter who calls Newark her home,” she said. “And, when we come down here on the weekends to shop and to play and to come and take in shows at NJPAC, she knows that when her mother says to her, ‘You are great,’ she knows that the city who is raising her is great.
“Today really is one of those moments where we get to show the entire world who we are.”
Ruiz said the project, with all of its collaborators, can be a model for others — and a symbol of hope.
“There’s a collaboration across the board, one that, quite frankly, really exemplifies where this country has to sit — community, public service, corporate philanthropy, corporate responsibility, all in a space of creating an equation where I can’t wait to come down here, grab a drink, catch a show, run around in the park, go down to Whole Foods and pick up my groceries and then go back home.
“If you didn’t know who we are in the city of Newark, I hope this begins to show you just a sliver of the beauty of who we are. And, quite frankly, it’s not in the buildings, it’s not in the corporate spaces, it’s not in the quarters or in the shows that take the stage, it’s the people who call our city home.”
