Rendering of Ironside Newark, Mulberry Commons, from McCarter Highway, Newark, NJ

NEWARK, NJ—Edison Properties and the City of Newark have started the first redevelopment in the city that will convert an industrial warehouse property into a commercial and retail destination at the heart of the city's rapidly transforming downtown.

The project, dubbed Ironside Newark, is designed by the New York City-based design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman.

Mulberry Commons will serve as a catalyst for Newark's continued transformation into a dynamic, walkable community, and Ironside Newark is an important component of activating this critical section of our downtown,” says Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. “The redevelopment of this building from a vacant warehouse into a cutting-edge commercial and retail destination, equipped with high-speed internet via our network of dark fiber optic cable, is a testament to the progress occurring throughout downtown and beyond. By attracting 21st century jobs and businesses to the area, Ironside Newark and Edison Properties are helping push Newark forward on its path to becoming a 24/7 city.”

Ironside Newark will transform a long-vacant historic warehouse known locally as “the Newark Warehouse” along busy McCarter Highway into a first-class office and retail building, outfitted with 456,000 square feet of modern loft-style and penthouse offices across six upper floors, with access to a rooftop featuring green space and views of both Newark and Manhattan, according to Michael Sommer, executive vice president for development with Edison Properties.

“Edison Properties has been located in Newark for 61 years now,” Sommer tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. “The company has purchased and assembled land throughout downtown Newark, and ultimately became a designated redeveloper in Mulberry Commons.”

Located just steps from Newark Penn Station, Ironside Newark will front directly on the 22-acre Mulberry Commons Park, and two floors of retail and restaurant space will provide a direct link between Ironside Newark and Newark Penn Station, the Prudential Center arena, the historic Ironbound neighborhood and the rest of an increasingly vibrant downtown.

“Newark is undergoing a renaissance,” Sommer says. “I think people are finally waking up to the idea that it's incredibly well-located. We've got unmatched transportation around the city, we have unparalleled infrastructure, and frankly from an office perspective, I will say that people are not only seeing it as a great alternative to [New York City], but as a pricing alternative to Hoboken, Jersey City, and the rest of the Gold Coast.”

Businesses at Ironside Newark will have access to affordable, high-speed internet access via an extensive network of fiber optic cable running beneath Newark's streets – making it an ideal setting for creative and tech-driven companies. Alongside contemporaries such as Prudential, Panasonic and Audible.com, Ironside Newark promises to play a key role in the city's continued emergence as a vibrant center for business and technology. Business occupants will begin moving into the property in the fall of 2018, Sommer says.

“We're offering a very unique product, one that's really not found on this side of the Hudson,” says Sommer. “We are designing for loft-style offices with open ceilings, and really a cool type of format that is commonplace in Manhattan and the other boroughs, but is not so common in New Jersey.”

The Newmark Grubb Knight Frank team of Timothy Greiner, Frank Recine, Jamie Ragucci, Harrison Russell and Andrew Sachs is serving as the exclusive leasing agent for Ironside Newark's office space. Marta Person Villa of Jones Lang LaSalle has been named the exclusive leasing agent for the building's retail space. Hollister Construction Services will serve as the sole construction manager on the project.

Starting in 1956 with one parking lot in Newark, Edison Properties is best known for operating businesses in specialized segments of real estate, including parking, mini storage and flexible workspaces. In addition, Edison Properties owns and operates a 625,000-square foot, class A office building, which includes a 640-space Edison ParkFast parking garage. Edison also constructed and manages The Ludlow, a 243-unit, 23-story apartment building in Manhattan.

Rendering of Ironside Newark, Mulberry Commons, from McCarter Highway, Newark, NJ McCarter

NEWARK, NJ—Edison Properties and the City of Newark have started the first redevelopment in the city that will convert an industrial warehouse property into a commercial and retail destination at the heart of the city's rapidly transforming downtown.

The project, dubbed Ironside Newark, is designed by the New York City-based design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman.

Mulberry Commons will serve as a catalyst for Newark's continued transformation into a dynamic, walkable community, and Ironside Newark is an important component of activating this critical section of our downtown,” says Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. “The redevelopment of this building from a vacant warehouse into a cutting-edge commercial and retail destination, equipped with high-speed internet via our network of dark fiber optic cable, is a testament to the progress occurring throughout downtown and beyond. By attracting 21st century jobs and businesses to the area, Ironside Newark and Edison Properties are helping push Newark forward on its path to becoming a 24/7 city.”

Ironside Newark will transform a long-vacant historic warehouse known locally as “the Newark Warehouse” along busy McCarter Highway into a first-class office and retail building, outfitted with 456,000 square feet of modern loft-style and penthouse offices across six upper floors, with access to a rooftop featuring green space and views of both Newark and Manhattan, according to Michael Sommer, executive vice president for development with Edison Properties.

“Edison Properties has been located in Newark for 61 years now,” Sommer tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. “The company has purchased and assembled land throughout downtown Newark, and ultimately became a designated redeveloper in Mulberry Commons.”

Located just steps from Newark Penn Station, Ironside Newark will front directly on the 22-acre Mulberry Commons Park, and two floors of retail and restaurant space will provide a direct link between Ironside Newark and Newark Penn Station, the Prudential Center arena, the historic Ironbound neighborhood and the rest of an increasingly vibrant downtown.

“Newark is undergoing a renaissance,” Sommer says. “I think people are finally waking up to the idea that it's incredibly well-located. We've got unmatched transportation around the city, we have unparalleled infrastructure, and frankly from an office perspective, I will say that people are not only seeing it as a great alternative to [New York City], but as a pricing alternative to Hoboken, Jersey City, and the rest of the Gold Coast.”

Businesses at Ironside Newark will have access to affordable, high-speed internet access via an extensive network of fiber optic cable running beneath Newark's streets – making it an ideal setting for creative and tech-driven companies. Alongside contemporaries such as Prudential, Panasonic and Audible.com, Ironside Newark promises to play a key role in the city's continued emergence as a vibrant center for business and technology. Business occupants will begin moving into the property in the fall of 2018, Sommer says.

“We're offering a very unique product, one that's really not found on this side of the Hudson,” says Sommer. “We are designing for loft-style offices with open ceilings, and really a cool type of format that is commonplace in Manhattan and the other boroughs, but is not so common in New Jersey.”

The Newmark Grubb Knight Frank team of Timothy Greiner, Frank Recine, Jamie Ragucci, Harrison Russell and Andrew Sachs is serving as the exclusive leasing agent for Ironside Newark's office space. Marta Person Villa of Jones Lang LaSalle has been named the exclusive leasing agent for the building's retail space. Hollister Construction Services will serve as the sole construction manager on the project.

Starting in 1956 with one parking lot in Newark, Edison Properties is best known for operating businesses in specialized segments of real estate, including parking, mini storage and flexible workspaces. In addition, Edison Properties owns and operates a 625,000-square foot, class A office building, which includes a 640-space Edison ParkFast parking garage. Edison also constructed and manages The Ludlow, a 243-unit, 23-story apartment building in Manhattan.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Steve Lubetkin

Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].