Newark’s historic Walker House at 540 Broad Street is now home to a local brewery and a 22,000-square-foot indoor rock-climbing gym, the latest phase of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan led by LMXD, Prudential Financial Inc., and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. Located in the heart of downtown, Newark Local Beer and Method Climbing + Fitness sit below 20 stories of rentals that debuted in 2020.
Method Climbing + Fitness, the first indoor rock-climbing gym in Newark, occupies the first and lower levels of Walker House and includes the gym, retail space, and a cafe. The gym includes 12,000 square feet of climbing terrain, nearly 8,000 square feet of bouldering terrain with 15-foot-high walls, and more than 4,000 square feet of roping terrain with 30-foot-high walls.
Newark Local Beer occupies 6,300 square feet of the ground floor and offers a variety of craft beers, light fare, gaming space, and a large private event space.
View inside Method Climbing + Fitness – Photo by Nick Fargo
Newark Local Beer at Walker House – Photo by Newark Local Beer
“Downtown Newark can be relied on as a destination where people come to eat, socialize, and encounter unique experiences,” said Jake Pine, senior director at LMXD, an affiliate of L+M Development Partners. “We’re thrilled to welcome Newark Local Beer and Method to Walker House and are excited to see the immense impact that they will have on transforming this historic gem into a vibrant, attractive destination for a fun physical challenge, a relaxing beer, or both.”
The landmarked 1929 Art Deco building is one of the city’s largest commercial-to-residential conversions and now comprises 211 units and a full suite of residential amenities including a fitness center, a yoga studio, a library lounge, a private catering kitchen and dining room, a game room, storage areas, and a crowning rooftop terrace with outdoor cooking areas.
The conversion was led by Inglese Architecture & Engineering and CetraRuddy.
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Fantastic