LeFraks Want to Raise Cap on Newport Space

When legendary NYC-based developer and visionary Sam LeFrak took on the task of developing vacant and vandalized rail yards on this city’s Hudson River waterfront back in the mid ’80s, he conjured up a package of five million sf of office space and other uses. That’s a lot of space-fully half of the amount that exists in the massive World Trade Center directly across the river in Manhattan.

And it’s not enough. For now, the Lefrak Organization is limited by state and local regulations to “only” that five million feet of office space at what is now called Newport Center, the company’s 400-acre planned community. But that space cap could change, and soon.

Indeed, the office market is so hot all across Northern NJ, and demand for space is so high, that Sam LeFrak and son Richard are seeking city and state approvals to up the ante to at least seven million feet, and perhaps more. “I can’t build space fast enough,” the elder LeFrak admits.