“As Manhattan becomes unaffordable, Newark becomes increasingly attractive”
This past Friday, the Daily News once again addressed the City of Newark in an article called “It’s a Wonderful Loft,” analyzing and praising the half a dozen recent loft conversions.
The article mainly profiles the projects, while pumping the NEW appeal of Newark with the hope to pull in outside buyers. While Newark is always looking to bring in new residents, as a Newarker, I am very excited to see new potential places to live.
Attention Newarkers: You have a few new options!!!
1. The Button Factory Lofts HERE!
59-65 NJ Railroad Avenue
201-362-7168
www.buttonfactorylofts.com
NY Daily News says: “After Hal Laessig and his wife lost their downtown Newark art gallery and living space in an eminent-domain fight with the Newark Housing Authority over the Prudential Center, they were determined to save an old building. Three years and $3 million later, an 1879 former button factory in the Ironbound District houses their gallery, the Sumei Multidisciplinary Art Center, and serves as their home. They developed Button Factory Lofts into 14 condo units, nine of which have sold since the building opened in October.”
2. StudeBaker Lofts COMING SOON!
368 Broad Street
http://studebakerloftsnj.com/Home_Page.html
NY Daily News says: “The former Studebaker car service center on downtown Newark’s outskirts will be converted to 68 rental units, 50% affordable and 50% market rate, over 14 months.”
3. Packard Lofts COMING SOON!
1002-1008 Broad St.
NY Daily News says: “Packard Lofts, at a 90-year-old former car dealership, will be finished sometime this summer. Tom Banker, a spokesman for developer Dubrow Management, said the 28 rental units will have high ceilings and mezzanine spaces, “the same flavor you’d get in SoHo or Chelsea,” and the target market will include “people who are working in downtown Newark but not living in downtown.”
4. Richardson Lofts COMING SOON!
50-60 Columbia St.
http://richardsonlofts.com/
NY Daily News says: “His (referring to Michael Saltzman, Owner) Newark-based company, Newwork, is turning a 100-year-old former jewelry factory into the 67-unit Richardson Lofts — the company’s first project in the city. The centerpiece of the project, due for completion in May, is the six-story spiral steel staircase winding up through an atrium topped by a skylight. Among the many other salvaged elements, oversize balconies have been crafted from fire escapes. Units will range from 450 square feet for $1,080 a month to 950-square-foot duplexes for $2,464.”
5. TBD!
NY Daily News says: “Billy Haberthur and his business partner, Michael Hanley, are carving out a niche with mega-lofts that range from about 2,600 square feet to a 15,000-square-foot penthouse. Their $20-odd million condo project, 90 South Street Lofts, will add four floors to a three-story former toilet factory, creating about 25 units. The Ironbound project, which just won approval and will take about a year to complete, will be loaded with amenities, including a swimming pool, a basketball court and a 22,000-square-foot roof deck with a running track and a driving range”
March 8th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Nice compilation by the Daily news, weird to think they even know where Newark is outside of the airport.
March 8th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
A nice compilation indeed. FWIW, the Daily news reports some good stuff on Newark every now and then.
March 9th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
People who can afford to live in NYC will not come to Newark to live- but people who would want to live in these spaces- I still think the prices are way too high
March 9th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Is Richardson on schedule for May?
March 9th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
MC, compared to NY or JErsey City, and most of this region, they are not that high. It will happen slowly. More needs to happen, but come on, 5-10 years ago we are not even having this discussion! If i didnt live 4 min from work, I def. would move to one of these lofts!
March 9th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Great. More housing for hipsters. Newark is the next Williamsburg. A cesspool of irony. Why cant they just stay in Manhattan or Brooklyn? Pay to play right? It’s expensive but its the lifestyle you want to live I’m sure you can pay for it. I remember when awesome people lived in the Richardson building…back when living in lofts wasn’t ironic. Now what? We have people who don’t really want to live in Newark but will do so anyway just for the sake of being next to Manhattan. Reminds me of the movie Independence Day when the aliens went from planet to planet consuming what they needed and leaving when it was no longer appealing.
March 10th, 2010 at 7:50 am
MC–how much do you think they should cost?
Last I checked Williamsburg doesn’t have over 200,000 people. And if it were about the sake of being next to Manhattan, they would choose the Gold Coast or to a lesser extent Secaucus.
March 10th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
This ia all great but where are all these people going to shop at, Seabra’s, 99 cent stores on Ferry street. I don’t think so.
March 10th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I agree ziggy! This town is dying for a market and decent retail!
March 10th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
@Marv and Vinny- Newark doesn’t have an appeal yet, whereas those other places do. They are cheaper, obviously, but the way other places made their cities ‘cool’ to live in is that they made it super cheap to live at first to get a bulk of people in- then it gets competitive.
Like @ziggy says, great, it’s a bit cheaper to live here than jersey city or manhattan, but there is nothing else to do here- you are essentially saying, live in Newark- it isn’t really that awesome, but you are super close to go to somewhere that is
March 10th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
I am moving to one of these apartments in downtown Newark. Hardwood Floors, granite countertops, brick face, very high end and I’m paying about 1000.00 less than Hoboken or Jersey City. I work in Newark…it’s going to be GREAT! If you build it, they will come. The more places like this that fill up, the higher the police presence, the more the Broad and Market crew get pushed out, the better the retailer and coffee houses. Check out Philly, Harlem, Cleveland, and Baltimore…it happened there, it can happen here. Drops of rain fill the Ocean…
March 10th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Nothing to do here? 30+ bars and restaurants within walking distance. Hockey, concerts,and now pro basketball at pru ctr. Pro soccer just across the bridge in Harrison.Newark Bears Baseball, Art galleries. Concerts at NJPAC. NJ historical museum. Newark Museum. Newark Public Library. High end retail is lacking I admit, but if you look hard there are some real gems including Newark Art Center. The universities are always having shows and exhibits.
March 10th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Robert…exactly! There is a great vibe in Newark right now. You can either go with it or keep complaining about the old Newark and do nothing.
March 14th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I personally am thrilled im a college student looking for a place to get with a possible roommate. A loft is what I’ve been looking into the most. I mean its just really what I’ve always wanted either that or a pretty large studio so I can divide it the way I see fit. The fact that people are seeing the potiential in newark and slowly but surely making things happen is wonderful progress, but it also says that some newarkers need to begin to elevate themselves as well or get lost in the change of newark.
March 15th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Wow, this thread really took off at the end. Newark is Newark, not NYC, Jersey City or Hoboken. You have to like a city for what it is, was and is going to be and not what it isn’t. I have been here 5 years, love the cities intricacies and what I don’t like about it I complain about and try to work to change. Those that sit around complaining that it isn’t the Newark of old or that it’s gentryfying or neglecting the simple fact that THE ONLY CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE.
March 16th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
You’re right the constant in life is change. But you see, real Newarkers understand the soul that Newark had. You people are killing it slowly but surely. You guys got here a little too late. As in its soul, inspiration, etc, it isn’t the same Newark from before. You will never get out of Newark what people got out of it before. So go ahead and pay a shitload of money to live in a lifeless, renovated overpriced shithole. You people don’t want Newark. Not in its essence. I’m sure half of you could give a fuck about anything or anyone but your small circle-jerk network of yuppies and hipsters. The moron above said it best, who’s going to live in their trendy loft surrounded by A.J. Seabras and 99 cent stores? Only an arrogant piece of shit who was fed with a silver spoon would speak like that. Whatever culture Newark had I’m sure you guys will bury even deeper in it’s grave. It’s amazing really how you all have no clue. I’m sure you’re all the same assholes who walk around with your cooler-than though personas. I guess that’s what comes with privilege.I also love the little hints of racism you show in your comments. I hope this city eats you alive. I hope you get the same treatment others got during the gentrification of Manhattan/Brooklyn because you could give a fuck about the neighborhoods you’re moving into. You just care about yourselves, your little niche, and your circle-jerk of bearded lanky dumbfucks. A bunch of tools getting raped by developers.
March 17th, 2010 at 2:33 am
NewarkA- you’ve got the right attitude- I’m starting this new zine and blog, and we need someone like you to tell it like it is– what d ya say!!? just e-mail me at ilovemybeard@gmail or call me at 973-666-6666.
I’d hate to see this town the way it was 100 years ago myself- what will us realsters do!!?
March 18th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
NewarkA I am at a loss for your anger. Should no new people come to this city with different ideas than yours. Should we follow the suggestions of NJ.com bloggers and build a gigantic brick wall around Newark and let it rot? You logic is terribly flawed when you speak of this city as a perfect place prior to most of our arrival. The numbers speak for themselves (High murder and crime rate, failing schools and high unemployment). I fail to understand your disdain for having the middle and upper class or the upwardly mobile take to the city and reside here. To imply that Newark has no soul just merely means you have lost touch with an every changing city, just like someone that moved out during the 50s would see a different city today than they remember. BTW, real classy calling people morons for having a different view point than you, go check out NJ.com if you need to go that route when communicating here. As for your racist comments, typical of an old guard Newark, hide your own racism and resentment toward whites or anyone other racial group by accusing others. God forbid whites or anyone racial group are successful in Newark. It’s this attitude that the Irish, Italians, Blacks and countless other racial groups have taken that hurt this city by attempting to divide prosperity by race. Go take your bitterness and hang out with John James and his cronies and go protest city hall but don’t waste our time by judging us for being part of a city that is improving.
PS, most people know it’s considered uncouth to use derogatory language on a blog, but than you for showing us new ways to integrate the F word into conversation.
March 29th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
NewarkA what soul newark has are you talking about the abandoned storefronts and buildings lining broad and market or is it the welfare mommies and drugdealer infesting the streets and the prostitutes really. It’s people like you with a norrowminded additude about what newark is or was stop with the racist it card newark wouldn’t be in the mess it was in the last 30 plus years if it wasn’t do to the facts that african americans went around burning more then half the city down and destroying all of it’s true soul and feel all of them amazing historic buildings and homes that were lost do to their savageness and scaring all the families away from newark do you really think newark is gonna get better without new people moving back in i been here long enough to know the so called true newark people that you claim to be haven’t done a thing to improve newark and make it compete with cities like nyc and philly because you act as if you own it but you don’t either adapt or move along . i have been a newark risedent for over 40 yrs if anyone has any say in newark it’s me i was born and still live here and i like the idea new people are moving back into the city bring in back development i don’t want newark staying the same as it was for the last few decades since the roits i prefer the the new comers to the city that are building these lofts and bringing in new business i feel your hate towards the ironbound area if it wasn’t for it newark would have died along time ago do to the fact real people with normal families aren’t crazy enough to put their families in danger visiting the other areas of newark that your so called people that giving newark it’s feel which i still don’t understand what the gang members with the guns shooting up your streets is that the feel you want to bring your kids up in i think if that is it i think you need to pack your things and move because the real residents of newark don’t want you and your kind here stalling what can again be a great city.
March 29th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
and i’m zenrock666 in nj.co and i defend newark and anyone that want’s to come into the city to make it better but i will not defend the garbage that has been bringing newark down all these decades be it the lowlife residents that just moved into my city with the additude that anything goes here as if it’s the wildwest or the project living lowlifes that think we don’t have laws and rules that everyone else needs to follow and your expected to also or i’ll make sure to point you out and shine the light on your negative additude and how you want to keep things as is so you can continue the image of crime and downridden image your wanting to give newark when in fact it’s trying to get rid of it but criminals hate change and what it will do to their lifestyle so i say i welcome all new comers please do come here we need you and are glad to have you as part of our great city help us once again make it what it was before the animals burned it to the ground and to this day are trying to keep it there help us win this fight.
March 29th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
the Ironbound section welcomes all new comers to the city of newark don’t let the few negative fools in here that want to keep you out so things can stay as is from moving here we have a great area with mass transit to new york city and other poinst across our state plus sporting events by prudential center ,REDBULL SOCCER STADIUM JUST ACROSS the river in Harrison an easy walk from penn-station, Bears baseball stadium ,Music NJPAC plus the Newark museum and Main Libary plus dining and shopping it’s a safe area that you can walk around the streets at all hours of the night going from one venue to another without feeling scared ironbound has a great atmosphere for family outtings or just doing the party scene by club hopping XL LOUNGE,GUITAR BAR,VIVO LOUNGE,ADEGAS LOUNGE,CLUB 118, ARENA LOUNGE, HELL’KITCHEN BAR LOUNGE and all the over 30 plus bars and retaurants along FERRY STREET and the rest of ironound FEEL to visit us your welcome here make your self at Home as if your among family.
March 29th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
ziggy let me bring you up to date there’s shops and boutigues in the Ironbound that i can bet you can’t afford some of the things they carry so don’t just try to claim there’s only 99cent stores most stores carry european and brazilian products from aged port wines to portugese gold jewelery which is of a higher quality then american gold plus high end imported furniture from europe for the homes which are pretty pricey not to speak of highend fashions from overseas and top Designers that you will not find on the corner of market and broad street in the vendor carts or some parts the united states outside of the new york fashion district ok so let’s keep it real.
March 31st, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Interesting how this post started and to where its currently going. I’ve lived in Newark for over 20 years and I see both sides of the fence. Yes there is a need to get new blood into the city so it can become a better, but there are people that are lifelong Newarkers that are working and going to school and doing many things right outside of the Ironbound section. The negativity coming from both joe and newarka are coming from a bias view. Must newcomers come to newark go towards the ironbound section, but the welcome mat that you speak of is not showed to everyone ( I know that not all the Ironbound residents like “all” newcomers) !!
Now NewarkA your coming from the point of view that Newark is being taken over by other ppl ( which you mean by white ppl)! I love that fact that this year alone I have a friend that moved from Brooklyn to Newark and he’s Chinese and his Black/Hispanic neighbors were giving him grief, but he doesnt care because hes making Newark his home! So Newarkers need get over this whole supremacy vibe to newcomers!
Joe your point of view is that the Ironbound is the jewel of Newark and that without it Newark would be in more of negative light without it. I currently live and grew up in the Central ward and I can tell you that my neighborhood was not a horrible experience at all or as you so eloquently stated filled with “welfare mommies and drugdealer infesting the streets and the prostitutes”! The bias that both of you guys have is the reason why Newark is currently so segregated…..yes its very segregated!!
I love my city and I love all the new Newarkers calling it home!!!
April 7th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Nadeen,
Love your imput and views on this. I think that the recent elections has showed a rift that exist in the city. There are old guard racists (some of which are black but certainly not all) that do no with to have any “outsiders” come into the city. They want it to stay the way it is and yet complain about it. This city has many ammazing facets but has truly suffered over a 40 years of economic neglect. I think we all can only hope that as this economic cycle turns Newark sees growth which provides a higher level of employment to it’s citizens.
April 8th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Newarkdevil1 I agree with you completely! I would love to work in Newark but I have to work in midtown, I really hope that more industries come to Newark beyond the downtown area.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:02 am
I mean, watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfyycHoqDRA
Watch the related videos. I’m not pulling this shit out of my ass, people.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:54 am
NewarkA,
Which are the lesser of evils: yuppies, or ghetto crack-addicted crime endorsing bums? Which ones have the ability to bring in much needed income? Yes, let’s keep all the abandoned buildings, graffiti, trash-covered lots, dollar stores and panhandlers around. It would be very wrong and “souless” to generate a real tax base at a time where the city needs it and is long overdue. And I can’t stand yuppies btw.
April 13th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
NewarkA, I live off of 16th Ave and there are so many abandoned buildings and homes around the area. If someone decides to buy one of these buildings and rehab it why is that a problem? Oh its letting in the possibility of “others” moving into the neighborhood. I am tired of the same old song, I work with ppl from the Bronx and they are terrified of Newark and I’m like really?? Newark has a very bad image and especially in the tri state area. Yuppies are yuppies I could care less, I see my neighbor who is an “other” picking up garbage from the street while I see “Real Newarkers” in West Side Park throwing their garbage everywhere. Drive along West Side Park on 16th Ave and see the amount of garbage in the park, and kids play there, if Newarkers don’t take of their city who else is suppose to? The new Newarkers are going to be ppl that shape what the city becomes!
April 13th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
So do you have a solution for these “crack-addicted crime endorsing bums?” Should we all just throw them in prison? Send them to college and cross our fingers? Get a firing squad? Just ignore them and hope they go away? Yes, a real tax base is needed. However, as long as the poor, weak, and powerless continue to be neglected and simply assumed to be ghetto crack-addicted crime endorsing bums, we’re never going to get anywhere. This hipster movement is putting money into the pockets of the already rich. What’s the extra income going to do? Fix infrastructure? More shiny recycling bins? I dunno man, I don’t know exactly which is the lesser evil. You should tell me.
April 14th, 2010 at 9:01 am
“What’s the extra income going to do? Fix infrastructure? More shiny recycling bins?”
Yes. The more people(and more variety) means more demand for these type of services, like police, sanitation, etc. Things like lofts, condos and other similar development provide a tax base that can eventually go into uses that I just mentioned. As for being neglected, they’ve been catered to more often than necessary for decades(affordable/HUD housing continued to pop up), and it hasn’t worked.
Therefore, the solution IS gentrification. Don’t act like it’s committing a felony.
April 29th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
@NewarkA , The resistance to change is futile in this life. You should spend more time focusing on fixing problems and allinging changing interest to meet the needs of society as a whole. This blog is a dirivitave of the Richardson Building project which has subsidized housing as part of it’s mix. Dranoff’s project has the same requiremetns as well as the “Shaq” project. Newark can either lag behind in economic developement and end up like Detroit or embrace new urbanism. Society can only do so much to help and then quite frankly it becomes our problem to pick up the gap between what we have and what we want.
July 13th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
I’m joining the fray very late, I admit, but NewarkA has really irritated me. I’ve been living in Newark for five years and just recently bought a home here [and not in the Ironbound].
My husband [white, if you must know] comes from a family that’s been living here for ages–so long, that one of the streets is named for his grandmother’s family. So, he has every right to live here, to attend the church that his family has attend for ages, walk the streets that his grandparents would stroll while shopping at stores that no longer exist.
And, I have every right to live here. I attend school here, I teach here, and yes, I do my grocery shopping at the Pathmark by UMDNJ. I used to shop in NY&Co until it closed. [I now venture to the Ironbound for my clothing needs.] I often stop by the shoe store on Halsey for a new pair of heels. My running and hiking gear comes from Modell’s on Market. I regret nothing west of the Ironbound seems to be open on the weekends.
Yes, our presence here helps. We pay property taxes–you need money to solve a lot of the problems you cite. We maintain our home–better property values I teach at a school known for its diversity and many of my students are local. I put in many hours in my office to make sure the students who want to do well will do well in their college careers–so, yes, do send your kids to college. As for the crack-addicted population, again, you need tax money, which I provide, and they need jobs, which I indirectly provide. If there were more of me and my free-spending, house buying hipster kind, maybe Newark wouldn’t be talking about laying off cops right now and Starbucks wouldn’t have closed [though, I prefer Brick City--just annoyed that they aren't open on the weekends].
And, my husband doesn’t have a beard–he has a goatee.
July 30th, 2010 at 2:26 am
though i don’t think newarkA vocalized his opinions in the best way possible, he does offer some insight, like it or not, about how many newark residents (and residents in other urban communities) feel.
little evidence actually supports the idea that gentrification uplifts communities by bringing in greater cash flow and increasing the tax base. this “trickle down” economics is just that…an idea. there is also little evidence to suggest that the revenue that is generated goes towards services that benefit the greater community. the potential increase in a cop presence, for example, will likely only effect the neighborhoods around these lofts to make yuppies feel safe which is to say, to keep newark residents away from these areas.
i am concerned that many people remain invisible in these talks about commerce. long time residents are often displaced or overlooked during these talks. yes, it should be a concern for all of us that people who typically have little investment in a community move in and will spend most of their time and money elsewhere. i hope there are programs in place to help hard-working residents in newark take advantage of these lofts.
i don’t live in newark (though i want to). i live in orange. i’d love to live any loft on broad st, but i’m afriad to even look at the prices to live there.
August 5th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I will join in too:
I moved to Newark in 2004, originally living on Summer Ave (close to the Belleville border), then to Pavilion, and now in Eleven80. I love this city, I spend my money here in local bars/restaurants (rewarding those that cater to residents by essentially boycotting bars that are only open on event nights), I shop here when I can, I go to local businesses over chains, I walk around in the city, I take the buses. I live here. I’ve worked in Newark since 1999. I catch a lot of shit from people on the street for looking out of place, but hey, I don’t blame them for being pissed off with the way things have been going for them in general.
Newark needs to fix its school system. How? I don’t know. Funding, most probably. It needs a real tax base. I’m sorry to say that property tax-wise I’m not contributing to that, but I think the city has seen feet to waive taxes to try to get people to come here. Lamentable, but to some extent, it is working.
At any rate, I don’t see why it is supposed to be a sin to want to live in a nice place. I do like the city, but to be “real Newark,” I don’t understand why I should have to live in a cheap apartment if I don’t want to. Gentrification is bad, and that I can agree on… however, there’s more than enough abandoned stuff down here for everyone to live in for the time being.