Belmar-based Ellavoz Impact Capital is the new owner of two interconnected buildings totaling 100,000 square feet that formerly served as the grounds for St. Michael’s Hospital in Newark.
Located at 306 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., EIC is looking to convert the structures into new workforce housing apartments which are designed to meet the needs of young professionals and students seeking quality, price-attainable housing in an increasingly unaffordable section of Newark.
The project, to be known as Newark Commons, will create 43 new housing units consisting of 144 bedrooms.
Built in 1869, the buildings have been a part of Newark’s history for over 150 years. Using Historic Tax Credits, the project will preserve and adaptively repurpose this vacant historic structure which has been unoccupied for nearly two decades. The property will also tap Opportunity Zone equity, a capital tool designed to stimulate investment in under-resourced communities.
According to EIC, Newark Commons will have a positive impact by:
- Reactivating a currently abandoned site in the Historic James Street Neighborhood, linking it to both downtown and University Hill. It will also serve as a gateway for those entering Newark from the western suburbs;
- Creating high-quality, price-attainable housing in a rapidly appreciating community with immediate access to public transportation, universities, and downtown Newark; and
- Providing substantial rehabilitation to a historically significant structure.
“The repurposed use of Newark Commons to support the higher education, young mobile professionals and health care workforce needs for affordable private housing will be another catalyst in Newark’s remarkable growth,” Robert Hutchins, founder and CEO of EIC, said. “Ellavoz is committed to real social impact while delivering market returns to our client investors. We look forward to partnering with other Newark stakeholders in the private as well as public sector to deliver this best-in-class development.”
EIC will be the managing partner and sponsor of this project and has raised an Opportunity Zone Fund to provide Limited Partner equity into the transaction. Financing has been secured from Cinnaire and Industrial Bank to acquire the building.
