[Nexis4Jersey]

New Developments Seen as Boosting Future of Newark

NEWARK—For years, this city has watched nearby Hoboken and Jersey City be transformed by luxury apartments, restaurants and an influx of young professionals while it struggled to overcome a legacy of poverty, violence and corruption.

Now developers say the future of what was once an industrial hub is finally under way, with half-a-dozen downtown residential developments having received financing, broken ground or been completed within the past year. The hope is that the projects will bring thousands of residents, a more vibrant street life that will help drive down crime and lift rents enough to tempt other developers to take the plunge.

“I think this moment is really a new beginning,” said Newark’s economic and housing development director, Baye Adofo-Wilson.

Among the projects moving forward is the Four Corners Millennium Project, which is expected to have 705 residential units, a hotel, retail and office space. It has received state tax credits and begun design work.

Elsewhere, Dranoff Properties plans to break ground this winter on a 22-story building with 245 apartments in a city that has seen little new high-rise construction in the past 50 years.

Also under way is the 500,000-square-foot redevelopment of the former Hahne & Co. department-store site. The developers have signed a lease for a Whole Foods Market, which is expected to open in 2016.