Listen to this article

The basics:

• The recent groundbreaking of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center campus in Newark marked a significant milestone in a years-long process involving a complex deal and multiple stakeholders.
• The project will create a mixed-use, mixed-income residential complex, a new education and community center, a redesigned Chambers Plaza and more.
• State and local officials celebrated the project as a major investment in Newark’s future, providing new housing, jobs and cultural opportunities.

A September groundbreaking in Newark offered a glimpse into what the future might hold for the Brick City.

As officials gathered to kick off the $336 million redevelopment of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center campus, the moment also marked a milestone in a years-long process that involved a complex deal and multiple stakeholders.

“Newark is a city rich in history and possibilities, and NJPAC‘s role as an active, engaged and productive anchor cultural institution in its future is an extraordinarily exciting one,” said John Schreiber, NJPAC president and CEO. Schreiber has spearheaded the three-year, mixed-use project, which will bring hundreds of new homes, shops and restaurants as well as outdoor gathering spaces to the city.

“The streets of Newark have always been steeped in the arts. This is a city where jazz and hip hop are in the breeze, and every wall without a mural is just a canvas no one’s yet claimed,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a 2025 Democratic gubernatorial candidate. “The new neighborhood around NJPAC will fully embrace that dynamic spirit, bringing more housing, stores and gathering places to our already lively downtown. And one of the highest notes of all will be the new headquarters for our city’s iconic jazz station, WBGO.”

Scheduled for completion in fall 2027, the project features several components, including:

• ArtSide: A mixed-use, mixed-income residential complex developed by NJPAC, LMXD and MCI Collective, and planned and designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill. It will consist of 350 rental units with 20% affordable housing, plus retail and cultural spaces — it also features that new home for WBGO as well as an extension of Mulberry Street.
• Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center: A 58,000-square-foot facility designed by Weiss/Manfredi that will serve as a hub for students, community partners and artists to gather, learn and create.
• A major redesign of Chambers Plaza: Designed by Future Green.
• Essex County Green: A new space that will create a four-season urban park.
• Renovations to 31 Mulberry St.: Recently acquired by NJPAC, the existing building adjacent to the Cooperman Center will house additional spaces for community gatherings as well as educational and offices spaces for the Arts Center.
• A redesign of NJPAC: Work on the center’s eastern façade will include certain interiors and loading docks.

“NJPAC’s campus redevelopment is more than a construction project; it’s a powerful investment in Newark’s communities and future,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “This initiative will not only provide more housing and commercial spaces, but also create vibrant cultural and educational opportunities that will enrich the lives of Newark residents for generations to come.”

The deal to bring the project to fruition involved multiple partners and stakeholders – as well as $200 million in Aspire tax credits from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Philanthropic support came from NJPAC’s $244 million Capital Campaign, which included a notable foundational gift from investor Leon Cooperman, Toby Cooperman and the Cooperman family for construction of the Cooperman Center.

“The Cooperman Center, a new home for so much of NJPAC’s Arts Education and Community Engagement work, will be in service to everyone, from infants to older adults,” said Leon Cooperman, who was on hand for the event. “Newark is a city of creativity, and I believe the Center has a unique opportunity to contribute to its future.”

PHOTOS: Click here to see more photos of the groundbreaking as well as renderings of what the NJPAC campus will look like once the project is complete.

“This project will reshape this entire neighborhood; provide new housing and employment opportunities; and further cement NJPAC’s legacy and contribution to the city,” said Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, a key project partner that facilitated the master planning of the campus redesign and financed NJPAC’s predevelopment needs. Lowrey also serves as co-chair of the NJPAC board, with Carmen Villa. “We are thrilled to be part of this project. And we are thrilled to say that Newark is our hometown.”

“This project has truly been a labor of love,” said former Newark Council President and Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver, the newly minted representative for the 10th Congressional District. McIver succeeds the late Donald Payne Jr. following her special election win, which happened the same day as the groundbreaking. “I love groundbreakings, but I love ribbon cuttings even more. But it’s a delight to be here for this groundbreaking because it took so many moving parts.”

McIver reflected on the process of moving the project to this point, noting the community dialogue, meetings and working with all of the different stakeholders. “To have a project with affordable housing, a new arts and culture center – it is just amazing,” she said. “The folks that are here in this city, this is for you to come and enjoy what’s happening here in your city. So, I welcome you – I invite you to get involved in what’s happening here in the city and take part in that.”

“As Newark goes, so goes the State of New Jersey,” said Murphy. “And under the mayor’s and City Council president’s leadership, Newark is on fire. Today is a great example of that.”

Newark ‘at a pivotal moment’

Another Newark native, Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, D-29th District, who serves as Assembly budget chair, spoke about the work to pass the Aspire legislation and having it help bring a project of this scope to fruition in her home city.

“This is what the City of Newark has to offer,” said Pintor Marin. “The City of Newark, as the mayor said, is really at a pivotal moment – because there is no going back. It’s moving forward. And to be able to bring housing, the arts, school – these are the things that communities are built on.”

“I’m here as the mother of a daughter who calls Newark her home,” said Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, D-29th District, who noted that she lives, works and plays in the Brick City. “And today, there is a collaboration across the board, one that, quite frankly, exemplifies where this country has to sit,” Ruiz continued. “Community, public service, corporate philanthropy, corporate responsibility.”

“I’m excited about this project. We are trying to make this the center of gravity where people gravitate toward when they come to Newark – in this area between NJPAC and the Prudential Center,” Baraka told reporters. “The housing and the residential spaces that are being built in this area are tremendous. It adds to what we are trying to do on the other side.”

The mayor also stressed the jobs – both construction and permanent positions – that a project like this will yield, as well as re-emphasizing the arts component, which he described as an “economic lever” for cities.

“People go to New York because they want to go to plays and movies and entertainment. That’s why they go there,” said Baraka. “So, us using the arts here in our city – in a city that’s always been known for arts – to bring the city back, is what we’ve been interested in; what we’ve been invested in. And NJPAC is a way to get that done.”

“We’re grateful beyond measure to the remarkable coalition of partners, both public and private, who have collaborated with us to make this new neighborhood an exciting reality,” said Schreiber.

“As the state struggles with affordable housing, Newark is leading the way in figuring out how to do ‘and’ not just ‘or.’ How to bring art, luxury apartments, affordability and community workforce to the same place at the same time,” said Baraka.