NEWARK-Aetna Realty acquired the 500,000-sf former Westinghouse manufacturing plant on Orange Street here more than two decades ago for just $2 million. Now, after sitting vacant and fenced-off for most of that period, the circa 1870 brick structure is being demolished by the New York City-based owner.

That demolition is expected to pave the way for a mixed-use redevelopment of the four-acre site. Specific plans have not been released, and neither has a development timeline, but renderings and preliminary data provided by the company show multiple 20-story-plus towers, a mid-rise residential building and a ground-floor retail component.

Officials of the family-owned company, headed by Ivor Braka, say the demolition process should be completed by April. After that, the site will be subjected to a remediation process, and city and state approvals lie ahead.

Situated directly across from NJ Transit's Broad Street Rail Station, the old plant was the first industrial headquarters in the US for Westinghouse when it was built. For Aetna Realty, the site is one of several properties it owns here, including the office building at 560 Broad St. and multiple retail and industrial buildings.