After sitting on the land for years, and encouraged by the local economic upswing, New Newark figures the time is right to move forward with redevelopment of the tract. Things are beginning to fall into place very quickly.

A total of 18 development teams answered the call of New Newark's RFP late last summer, and the organization has quickly winnowed the list down to a half-dozen finalists. The list of finalists is impressive: The Applied Cos. of Hoboken, which has made its substantial mark all along New Jersey's Hudson River waterfront; Avalon Bay Communities, one of the country's top multifamily developers; Cogswell Realty, which recently finished a $55-million renovation of the 71-year-old National Newark Building; Parkside Associates; Rockrose Development, which has made its mark on the other side of the Hudson; and SP-Vogue Urban Partners.

The developer of choice will be chosen shortly, according to Jim Schmidt, New Newark's director. What will emerge is a combination of apartments, condos, retailing and eateries in a package is expected to cost a minimum of $150 million to develop. Work is expected to begin in about a year with development of rental apartments and some small-scale retail.

An entertainment zone will follow, then apartments or condos fashioned out of the Hahne's and Griffith Plaza Buildings. Altogether, the "city within a city," as Newark Mayor Sharpe James has labeled it, is expected to take about four year to build out.

The project has its skeptics, mostly because Newark's recent track record of building Downtown housing hasn't been a good one. But there are plenty of optimists. "Newark is in the process of reinventing itself," says a spokesperson for Newark Now, a public/private sector marketing initiative. "After years of neglect, this city is again becoming an active urban center.

"The commercial market is active, new entertainment facilities are proving successful," the spokesperson concludes, "and the perceptions of Newark are changing."