Members of the Newark Central Planning Board recently agreed to greenlight a proposal for a new 19-unit mixed-use development along Springfield Avenue in Newark. The project is located at
626-638 Springfield Avenue
,
adjacent to Queen Latifah’s
Rise Living
development and approximately
one mile from downtown Irvington.
Professionals working on behalf of the city’s Department of Economic and Housing Development and a limited liability company that is majority-owned by Irvington-based real estate developer Adena Bayoh presented their proposal for the undeveloped lot at the city’s planning board meeting held on June 9.
The project will span four stories and include 3,310 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. It includes a rooftop deck with green spaces and a parking lot for up to 10 cars. The multifamily portion of the project will consist of two one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units, and five three-bedroom apartments.
Although the site is located next to a utilities site and a tire shop, a staff report made public by the planning board notes that the project is less than two blocks from West Side Park and five blocks from West Side High School.
The adjacent block houses the recently completed Rise Living apartment complex, which includes 76 units of luxury apartments and affordable housing. Jersey Digs reported in
May 2022
that Newark officials and Newark native Queen Latifah held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the project, which included a fitness center, business center, EV charging stations, and nearly 2,000 square feet of space for non-profit organizations.
The project was initially intended to consist of two mixed-use buildings with 115 apartments, but plans for the project were changed in 2018 to two rows of townhouses fronting South 16th and 17th streets, and one smaller mixed-use building along Springfield Avenue. Rise Living broke ground in 2022 and was completed in 2023, according to a
listing
on ApartmentFinder.com.
On the other hand, the approvals for the project at 626-638 Springfield Avenue come three years after Jersey Digs
reported
that Bayoh commenced construction of a 40-unit project at 654-688 South 11th Street in Newark. Bayoh was also the developer behind the mixed-use projects at 280 Park Place in Newark and 722 Chancellor Avenue in Irvington.
Bayoh did not return a request for comment from Jersey Digs.
While the West Side neighborhood has seen far less new development than other neighborhoods in Newark in recent years, city officials have been actively promoting new development in the area. In early 2021, city officials tapped
two consortiums
that include real estate developers RPM, MCI Development, and Richman Affordable Housing Corporation, to develop 3.28 acres of city-owned land near West Side High School. That initiative is intended to bolster investments in the neighborhood by an additional $60 million and convert 42 vacant parcels into housing that includes affordable units.
