"This development plan will transform the area into a safe and vital neighborhood," according to James. "It is the next step in the progression this city has been undergoing for years."

The city has tapped Mulberry Urban Renewal Co., a joint venture between the Hoboken, NJ-based Metro Homes and the Newark Redevelopment Corp., to do the project. Metro Homes has been active in the luxury condo market in Jersey City and Hoboken, and the NRC has done a number of projects in Newark.

"We've assembled a nationally prominent team of planners and architects," according to Dean S. Geibel, a development principal. "Now that the full extent of the plan is unveiled, we look forward to taking it from concept to reality."

The project is not without controversy, however. An earlier plan was killed last spring by the city council, and concerns about condemnation proceedings and the displacement of existing residents and businesses were the key issues. Some opposition to the project remains, coming from local groups led by an organization called the Mulberry Street Coalition.

Indeed, to address such concerns, the plan calls for incentives to current residents and businesses. Residential owner/occupants will get credits toward the purchase of new units, as will commercial owner/occupants.

"All residential and commercial owners will also be paid the fair market value of their property, not the city's assessed valuation, as many apparently initially believed," according to Geibel. "In addition, everyone will be reimbursed for the cost of relocating, whether or not they decide to stay in the redevelopment area."

The city already owns a five-acre parcel within the site, and officials say they intend to break ground for the first phase, a residential component called the Mulberry Promenade, sometime next spring. Officials also say it will take up to five years to fully build out the project.

Also part of the plan is a widening of McCarter Highway and a realignment of Mulberry Street. An outdoor amphitheater could be part of the project as well. A wild card is the proposed arena for the NBA's Nets and NHL's Devils franchises which, if built, would anchor the northern end of the project (see earlier stories). While city officials say the arena "is still very much alive," according to James, the consensus among observers is that it's on life support at best.

One number James and other city officials like the sound of: the built-out project is expected to generate $6 million a year in tax revenues. Less than $140,000 was collected from the area last year, according to James.