Georgia King Village (L) and the recently opened Walker House (R)

As many cities grapple with attracting investment not just in downtowns but also their surrounding neighborhoods, L+M’s work in Newark, N.J shows how a public-private model can do both at once.

The L+M team worked closely with the City to nurture a renaissance in downtown Newark by repurposing two historic buildings – Hahne’s and Walker House – as mixed-use projects that include affordable and market-rate housing, as well as retail space. Last month, we officially opened Walker House, the former NJ Bell Headquarters Building at 540 Broad Street, with Mayor Ras Baraka and many other members of the Newark community. Integral to the success of these projects has been our strong working relationship with the City and their commitment to creating and preserving equitable housing for its residents.

Georgia King Village and Zion Towers, in the West and South Wards, are also benefiting from this partnership. The City’s tax abatements have been vital to the financing of both projects, and in the case of Zion Towers, facilitated much needed renovations that were long deferred by a previous owner.

Beyond housing, partnerships like these also allow the City to connect residents to new services. For example, Georgia King Village residents now have access to free Wi-Fi in their apartments via the City’s fiber infrastructure, Newark Fiber. We proudly partnered with the City, Prudential and others, to install the infrastructure and take a step towards bridging the digital divide.

Residents are also able to take advantage of local hiring opportunities. In response to the City’s call for inclusion in the project’s construction, one Newark M/WBE has been contracted to renovate 150 townhomes at Georgia King Village. You can read about her success here.

L+M’s projects in downtown Newark and the outer wards is a replicable model of meaningful and equitable investment – not just in housing, but also in the community. It is an example of how government, and a committed private sector, can come together to create a shared vision and work together to improve all corners of the city.