First rock climbing gym in Newark to open in Walker House early 2020

Listen to this article

L+M Development Partners, Prudential Financial and the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group announced that Method Climbing, represented by Jake Frantzman of RIPCO Real Estate, will open early next year in Walker House, the recently opened mixed-use development in the restored historic NJ Bell building at 540 Broad St. in Downtown Newark.

Method Climbing will be the first climbing wall facility in Newark and, at 22,000 square feet, will be one of the largest of its kind in New Jersey.

Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka joined the development team earlier this month at a ribbon-cutting to formally open Walker House, which includes luxury and affordable housing, office space and retail.

Method Climbing will serve as a fitness facility with a community focus, offering not just a premiere climbing experience, but also networking and socializing opportunities.

The gym will contain 12,000 square feet of climbing terrain, including nearly 8,000 square feet of bouldering terrain with 15-foot high walls, and more than 4,000 square feet of roping terrain with 27-foot-high walls.

The gym will be located on the ground floor of Walker House. Designed by famed architect Ralph Thomas Walker in the 1920s, the 21-story building features 264 units of mixed-income housing, and will also contain a brewery and UPS Store on its ground floor.

In April, Walker House also welcomed Per Scholas, the tech training nonprofit, to its office space.

The full restoration of the building includes the renovation of its lobby and brick-and-sandstone exterior, both of which are on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.