Bold Redevelopment Plan Leaps Forward In Newark’s West Ward

NEWARK, NJ — A plan to redevelop 3.28 acres of city-owned land in the West Ward of Newark has taken a big step forward, officials announced Wednesday.

The properties, which are located near West Side High School, will be developed in accordance with the Fairmount Commons Redevelopment Plan, and will be turned into affordable housing, public parks and retail space, Newark officials said.

Two teams have been selected to lead the effort, officials reported:

• The first of the selected teams is a partnership between RPM, a New Jersey affordable housing development firm, and the Urban League of Essex County (ULEC), a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) active in the Fairmount Heights community
• The second team is made up of MCI Development Inc., a local minority-led development firm partnering with Richman Affordable Housing Corporation, a national affordable housing developer

According to city officials:

“The redevelopment area, which consists of two blocks in the West Ward’s Fairmount Heights neighborhood between South Orange Avenue and 13th Avenue, from South 11th Street to West Side High School and Fairmount Cemetery, is an assemblage of city-owned lots and lots that were transferred to the city by the New Jersey School Development Authority (NJSDA). The Fairmount Commons Redevelopment Plan was completed in the fall of 2019 with pro bono support from the Urban Planning team at Bloomberg Associates and from the Urban Planning and Architecture team at Interboro Partners. On the local level, residents, neighborhood businesses, and institutions, including West Side High School, provided vital input during the preparation of the redevelopment plan to ensure that redevelopment of the area meets the community’s needs.”

Key features of the project include:

• Total investment of $60 million in the redevelopment area
• Conversion of 42 vacant city-owned lots into predominantly affordable housing
• Three lots adjacent to West Side High and South Orange Avenue to be used as public park space, enhancing community interaction and walkability within the area
• Additional ground-level retail space along 13th Avenue and 11th Street

Newark officials said the project will have several community benefits:

“The redevelopment project will bring exciting reinvestment to an area neglected for decades and revitalize the South Orange Avenue commercial corridor. It will create a safe, livable, affordable and sustainable neighborhood with new one, two and three-family housing to encourage local homeownership, mixed-use buildings with a variety of local retail and commercial spaces to attract industry, essential educational and recreational facilities such as a 7,985 square foot early childhood development center, open green space, and streetscapes that enhance and showcase the neighborhood’s natural assets. It will restore and strengthen the traditional three-family residential blocks by increasing housing density, incorporating educational resources that leverage the proximity to West Side High School’s community programming and use land more productively, while preserving the feel of the surrounding neighborhood.”

It will also create more affordable housing in the area for both renters and owners, city officials said:

“The redevelopment project will create affordable home ownership opportunities by constructing 28 three-family homes targeting low to moderate income families within 65 to 75 percent of area median income. The project will also boost the area’s affordable rental housing stock with three mid-rise, multi-story, mixed use buildings comprising 142 residential units – of which approximately 50 percent will be affordable at a range of 30-80 percent of AMI – as well as 15,000+ square feet of commercial space that includes the aforementioned 7,985 square foot early childhood development center. These three mid-rise buildings will be located along South Orange Avenue (Site A), South 12th Street (Site D) and South 11th Street (Site A1).”

A map of the redevelopment area can be seen below.

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