The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) has broken ground on $336 million mixed-use campus redevelopment in Newark, New Jersey. Designed by multiple architects including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the 12-acre master plan involves the construction of two new buildings along with the renovation of two existing structures, and will yield mixed-income housing, community center space, and a new public park. The site is bound by Rector Street to the north, the intersection of Mulberry Street and Kitchell Place to the south, McCarter Highway and the NJPAC-Center Street light rail stop to the east, and Park Place to the west.
The groundbreaking was celebrated on Wednesday, September 18 by representatives of the development team, project stakeholders, and public officials including New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
(from left to right) Tim Lizura, EVP, Real Estate and Capital Projects, NJPAC; Steve Williams, CEO, LMXD; Tim Sullivan, CEO, NJEDA; Kerri Levine, Principal, The Fidelco Group; Senator M. Teresa Ruiz; First Lady Tammy Murphy; Charles Lowrey, Chairman & CEO, Prudential Financial, and NJPAC Board Co-Chair; Governor Phil Murphy; John Schreiber, President & CEO, NJPAC; Leon Cooperman, Chairman & CEO, Omega Family Office, Philanthropist; Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. Photo courtesy of NJPAC.
The residential component, seen in the main photo, is known as ArtSide and will yield 350 units with 20 percent reserved for affordable housing. Developed by LMXD and MCI Collective, the structure will rise from the site currently occupied by NJPAC’s Parking Lot A and will also include ground-floor retail space and restaurants, as well as a new home for Newark’s public jazz radio station WBGO. A new public park will be constructed in front of ArtSide, and the existing Chambers Plaza beside the NJPAC will be redesigned by landscape architect Future Green. The new park will be named Essex County Green in recognition of a $5 million grant from the county.
NJPAC’s eastern façade, loading docks, and portions of its interiors will also be revamped.
Chambers Plaza by Future Green. Photo courtesy of NJPAC
Chambers Plaza by Future Green. Photo courtesy of NJPAC
Mulberry Street will be extended from its current terminus at the intersection with Center Street, and will run between ArtSide and the NJPAC.
Mulberry Street extension by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Photo courtesy of NJPAC
The second new component is the Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center, seen below. Designed by Weiss/Manfredi, the facility will span 58,000 square feet and occupy the current Parking Lot C on the south side of Center Street.
Cooperman Center by Weiss/ Manfredi. Photo courtesy of NJPAC
Cooperman Center by Weiss/ Manfredi. Photo courtesy of NJPAC
The development will also include renovations to 31 Mulberry street, an existing five-story building NJPAC recently acquired adjacent to the site of the Cooperman Center. OCA Architects will lead the redesign of the structure, which will house additional spaces for community gatherings along with educational and office spaces for the arts center.
Development partners for the master plan include the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), which granted the project’s $200 million tax credits under the Transformative Aspire Program; Prudential Financial, which facilitated the master planing of the campus redesigns 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; and 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.
Other supporters include Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. and the County of Essex, MCI Collective managing director Siree Morris, the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency and Freddie Mac, which provided permanent loan commitments, and New Jersey Community Capital, which provided support in New Market Tax Credits.
Philanthropic support from major donors who contributed to the Arts Center’s $244 million Capital Campaign include Leon and Toby Cooperman and the Cooperman family for the Cooperman Center, which will headquarter NJPACs Arts Education, Arts & Well-Being, and Community Engagement initiatives.
The complex is located within walking distance of Newark Penn Station, offering access to PATH trains, New Jersey Transit buses and trains, Amtrak, and the Newark Light Rail system.
Construction on the NJPAC campus is slated to conclude in fall 2027.
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I hope this construction boom in Newark can keep going. They deserve it.
Agreed! There’s no reason to let Newark stew in underdevelopment in the middle of the NY/NJ economic success story. A strong, modern Newark will benefit everyone.
When I look at the graying audiences at most traditional arts events, new construction for arts centers seems like building the Titanic. The iceberg is coming, perhaps sooner than you think.
I have been through Newark many times on the train but only ventured into it on foot once for research at the library. There are a number of significant buildings there and I wish them a better future along with new development.