Rendering of Ironside Newark, Mulberry Commons, from McCarter Highway, Newark, NJ

NEWARK, NJ—Edison Properties and the City of Newark have started the first redevelopment in the city that will convert an industrial warehouse property into a commercial and retail destination at the heart of the city's rapidly transforming downtown.

The project, dubbed Ironside Newark, is designed by the New York City-based design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman.

“Mulberry Commons will serve as a catalyst for Newark's continued transformation into a dynamic, walkable community, and Ironside Newark is an important component of activating this critical section of our downtown,” says Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. “The redevelopment of this building from a vacant warehouse into a cutting-edge commercial and retail destination, equipped with high-speed internet via our network of dark fiber optic cable, is a testament to the progress occurring throughout downtown and beyond. By attracting 21^st century jobs and businesses to the area, Ironside Newark and Edison Properties are helping push Newark forward on its path to becoming a 24/7 city.”

Ironside Newark will transform a long-vacant historic warehouse known locally as “the Newark Warehouse” along busy McCarter Highway into a first-class office and retail building, outfitted with 456,000 square feet of modern loft-style and penthouse offices across six upper floors, with access to a rooftop featuring green space and views of both Newark and Manhattan, according to Michael Sommer, executive vice president for development with Edison Properties.

“Edison Properties has been located in Newark for 61 years now,” Sommer tells GlobeSt.com exclusively. “The company has purchased and assembled land throughout downtown Newark, and ultimately became a designated redeveloper in Mulberry Commons.”

Located just steps from Newark Penn Station, Ironside Newark will front directly on the 22-acre Mulberry Commons Park, and two floors of retail and restaurant space will provide a direct link between Ironside Newark and Newark Penn Station, the Prudential Center arena, the historic Ironbound neighborhood and the rest of an increasingly vibrant downtown.

“Newark is undergoing a renaissance,” Sommer says. “I think people are finally waking up to the idea that it's incredibly well-located. We've got unmatched transportation around the city, we have unparalleled infrastructure, and frankly from an office perspective, I will say that people are not only seeing it as a great alternative to [New York City], but as a pricing alternative to Hoboken, Jersey City, and the rest of the Gold Coast.”

Businesses at Ironside Newark will have access to affordable, high-speed internet access via an extensive network of fiber optic cable running beneath Newark's streets – making it an ideal setting for creative and tech-driven companies. Alongside contemporaries such as Prudential, Panasonic and Audible.com, Ironside Newark promises to play a key role in the city's continued emergence as a vibrant center for business and technology. Business occupants will begin moving into the property in the fall of 2018, Sommer says.

“We're offering a very unique product, one that's really not found on this side of the Hudson,” says Sommer. “We are designing for loft-style offices with open ceilings, and really a cool type of format that is commonplace in Manhattan and the other boroughs, but is not so common in New Jersey.”

The Newmark Grubb Knight Frank team of Timothy Greiner, Frank Recine, Jamie Ragucci, Harrison Russell and Andrew Sachs is serving as the exclusive leasing agent for Ironside Newark's office space. Marta Person Villa of Jones Lang LaSalle has been named the exclusive leasing agent for the building's retail space. Hollister Construction Services will serve as the sole construction manager on the project.

Starting in 1956 with one parking lot in Newark, Edison Properties is best known for operating businesses in specialized segments of real estate, including parking, mini storage and flexible workspaces. In addition, Edison Properties owns and operates a 625,000-square foot, class A office building, which includes a 640-space Edison ParkFast parking garage. Edison also constructed and manages The Ludlow, a 243-unit, 23-story apartment building in Manhattan.

McCarter

The project, dubbed Ironside Newark, is designed by the New York City-based design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman.

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Edison Properties Launching Ironside Newark Redevelopment

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