$50M Facelift At Newark Symphony Hall Will Also Create Jobs

NEWARK, NJ — A $50 million renovation at New Jersey’s largest Black-led arts and entertainment venue is expected to create 500 jobs and give a boost to 50 small businesses in Newark.

Recently, Newark Symphony Hall (NSH) unveiled designs for its exterior renovation – part of a five-year project set to wrap on the venue’s 100th birthday in 2025. The design for the space at 1020 Broad Street includes a new marquee and streetscape (see renderings in the above gallery).

In addition to giving a facelift to the building’s façade, the renovation attempts to “reimagine” the city block, adding bike lanes, improved curbing, a central island and transportation access to what serves as a gateway in the state’s most populated city.

According to president and CEO Taneshia Nash Laird, the renovation will “modernize” the beloved arts facility while also paying tribute to the history of the building, which was built in 1925 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Some of the Symphony Hall’s legendary acts over the years have included Placido Domingo, The Rolling Stones, Amalia Rodrigues, Celia Cruz, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin, among others.

The new marquee will be a throwback to the 1960s and 1970s, with a translucent dome that will shine LED lights onto the building’s columns – making it a “beacon” for Broad Street.

Other features will include:

• A series of in-ground directional LED up-lights to wash onto the façade from the sidewalk
• New streetlights with “tear-drop” light fixtures in front of the building
• A “NSH Plaza” in front of the hall, which will function as a crosswalk for pedestrians
• A public works and public art component that involves large “NSH” letters set into the pavement, celebrating the organization’s artistic history

“Our partnership with Taneshia and the folks at Newark Symphony Hall has been wonderful, and we very much appreciate the opportunity to breathe new life into such hallowed ground,” said John Hatch of architectural firm Clarke Caton Hintz (CCH).

The NSH, which is located in an Opportunity Zone, expects the renovation to be financed by philanthropy, historic tax credits and other state and federal programs.

CCH is also preparing an interior space plan to accommodate building tenants beyond the Newark Performing Arts Corporation, the nonprofit that operates the NSH. As part of the five-year project, NSH will also improve as much as 50,000 square feet of tenant space, including reactivating an entire floor of the hall that has been dormant for more than 30 years. Design specifications also include accessible restaurant space on the street level.

• See related article: Newark's Diverse Arts Scene Generates Big Bucks For City, Study Says

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