New Arts District Will Transform Montclair, Mayor Says

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Work on Montclair’s new “Arts and Entertainment District” has officially begun.

As part of the town’s Seymour Street Redevelopment Plan, a private development project near the Wellmont Theater kicked off construction earlier this week. When complete, real estate developers say that the project will transform the area into a new “Arts and Entertainment District” that will include residential and commercial uses, a 220-space parking deck and a public plaza.

The Wellmont Theater, an entertainment venue that opened in the 1920’s as a movie house and was retrofitted into a 2,500-seat concert venue in 2008, will serve as the anchor for the new arts district. The plan also includes a 14,000-square-foot landscaped public arts plaza with a walkway to South Fullerton Avenue.

Hopefully, the new arts district will help venues such as the Wellmont to attract big-name acts such as George Lopez, Modest Mouse, Blues Traveler, Slash and Tom Segura, who are all part of the autumn lineup, the theater stated in a Wednesday news release.

• See related article: Montclair Bar Opens Near Wellmont, Taps Nutley Native As Chef

“This new mixed-use arts district will transform Montclair into a mecca for the performing arts, attracting people from across the region,” Montclair Mayor Robert Jackson said. “I’m thrilled that concert goers, Montclair residents and visitors will be able to enjoy a pedestrian arts plaza serving as a public gathering spot for music, food and entertainment.”

The project also includes the construction of 200 new residential units with retail and offices at the site of a former Social Security building and STS Tire & Auto Shop.

The residential component of the plan has drawn some wary comments from some locals, however, who have suggested that the redevelopment may be an attempt to pass off a for-profit development project as an “arts” district.

“I've heard people say that this seems like a condo district being sold as an arts district,” a member of the arts advisory committee to the Montclair Township Council told NorthJersey.com in February. “On the other side of this, there are people who embrace [it].”

Under the terms of the Seymour Street Redevelopment Plan, which was adopted by the Township Council in September 2016, the Wellmont Theater is required to be “preserved and utilized as a live performance venue.” (See the full redevelopment plan here)

In addition to the Wellmont Theater, a minimum of 10,000 square feet of gross floor space within the redevelopment area is required to be provided for “publicly accessible arts and entertainment facilities,” which may include one or more of the following uses:

• Live performance venues (not to exceed 5,000 square feet of gross floor area)
• Arts and entertainment education facilities
• Recording and rehearsal studios
• Artist studios that are regularly open to the public
• Artisan industrial studios
• Art galleries
• Arts collectives
• Museum facilities

PARKING LOTS CLOSED

As part of the initial construction effort, part of Seymour Street has been closed, as well as the South Fullerton and South Willow parking lots.

In September, as part of the project’s first phase, the development team will break ground on a 220-space parking deck between Seymour Street and South Fullerton, which is expected to be complete in mid-2019, according to Wellmont Theater executives.

Meanwhile, Wellmont patrons can use metered Township of Montclair parking on the streets surrounding the theater and in nearby parking lots. Free parking will also be provided at Lackawanna Plaza in the lot behind TD Bank for Wellmont Theater concert goers with a ticket on show days, until completion of the new Seymour Street garage.

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Artist Rendering: Marchetto Higgins Steve