Developer Pedro Gomes is set to transform a set of vacant lots at 253 and 273 Orange Streets in to a 14- and 17-story residential building in the University Heights section of Newark, New Jersey. Designed by Musial Group, 253 Orange Street, aka Christiano, will yield 85 units in studio to two-bedroom layouts, while 273 Orange Street will yield 140 units. Both properties are located between Clifton Avenue and Nesbitt Street.
The above rendering is oriented looking north at the taller 273 Orange Street, while the below image provides a close-up perspective of the green-hued precast concrete panels and main entrance.
273 Orange Street. Rendering courtesy of Musial Group.
Units are 273 Orange Street will comprise of 126 one-bedroom units and 14 two-bedroom apartments. Amenities will include a lobby, a fitness center, a Zen garden, and a resident lounge.
Meanwhile, the below rendering depicts an earlier 16-story iteration of 253 Orange Street before it was scaled back by two floors, but the overall design will remain the same. The structure will feature a Flatironesque massing with a chamfered edge at the southern corner, and the façade will be composed of dark green paneling framing a grid of floor-to-ceiling windows.
253 Orange Street. Rendering courtesy of Musial Group.
The following photos give a more detailed preview of the beveled green façade columns and the street frontage.
253 Orange Street. Rendering courtesy of Musial Group.
253 Orange Street. Rendering courtesy of Musial Group.
The property is currently occupied by a surface-level parking lot, as seen in the below Google Street View image looking west along Nesbitt Street. Directly across Orange Street is the developer’s five-story Árbol by Gomes residential building at 254-270 Orange Street.
253 Orange Street, circa September 2025. Image via Google Maps.
Plans for 253 Orange Street date to 2023, when Gomes first proposed the following 15-story residential building, followed by a second 12-story iteration. Both were denied by the city’s Zoning Board.
The outdated design for 253 Orange Street. Rendering courtesy of Inglese Architecture + Engineering.
Apartments at Christiano will occupy floors two through 14 and will consist of one studio, 71 one-bedrooms, and 13 two-bedroom units. Amenities will include a lobby, a co-working space, and a communal roof deck.
Both addresses are located two blocks north of the Norfolk Street Light Rail Station, providing transit to Newark Penn Station. Access to I-280 West is located to the north along 8th Avenue. The property is also located in close proximity to Branch Brook Park and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
253 Orange Street is named after Gomes’ son, and received zoning board approval on March 12, while 273 Orange Street recently gained it’s approval for development last week. A construction schedule for both properties have yet to be disclosed.
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These look good and much better than the first iteration.