The $120-million project--called Teachers Village at Four Cornors--would redevelop an area from Maiden Lane to Pearl Street and involve demolishing eight deteriorating buildings along Halsey Street dating from the 1870s, constructing seven buildings four to six stories tall and rehabilitating a nine-story building.

Beit has been working hand-in-hand with Newark's Landmarks & Historic Preservation Commission, which he tells GlobeSt.com, "has certainly been receptive of the project." However, he continues, "they have had their comments and we are working with them on our plan." The buildings targeted for demolition are in the area known as the Four Corners Historic District but have been deemed expendable by the developer's historic-preservation consultant, according to Beit.

A new retail corridor with ground-floor shops along Halsey Street would marry two of the city's more vibrant draws: University Heights--home to Rutgers University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey--and the Prudential Center, the 18,000-seat arena known as the Rock. "Newark represents one of the best values in the country, let alone in the region," Beit tells GlobeSt.com. "Here you have ports, airports, universities, existing corporate infrastructure and accessible mass transit. You would be very hard-pressed to find another city with those assets at these values."