$94M ‘Museum Parc’ Breaks Ground In Newark: Housing, Art, Retail

NEWARK, NJ — A $94 million real estate project will bring a new housing development and retail space to downtown Newark, while also expanding the footprint of the Newark Museum of Art.

Community leaders and stakeholders recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for “Museum Parc,” a mixed-use, mixed-income, housing and retail development that is being built along Central Avenue (between Washington Street and University Avenue).

Construction is expected to be completed by 2027.

The project will include 250 mixed-income rental apartments across two buildings – a six-story building and a 12-story building – with approximately 2,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Developers said 20 percent of the 250 apartments will be income-restricted: 45 units will be affordable to households earning 50 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), and the remaining five will be reserved for households earning 30 percent of the AMI.

Here’s what to expect when the work is done, developers said:

“Museum Parc’s premier building will be six stories situated on the current location of Horizon Plaza by the corner of Central Avenue and Washington Street. It will consist of 90 apartment units and museum space, including a new 4,000 square foot glass-enclosed street-level art-and-programming facility, outdoor sculpture park, two large-scale murals, and green space. For tenants, the building will offer roughly 5,500 square feet of ground-floor amenity space, including a fitness center, co-working space, a generous lobby, and bicycle room. The second building, 12 stories at the northeast corner of Central and University Avenues, offers 2,400 square feet of ground-floor retail space and an additional 160 apartments with a range of amenities across approximately 5,000 square feet, including a game room, lounge, and speakeasy, as well as a 3,000-square-foot roof terrace accessed through the garden room and commercial kitchen area.”

The $94 million project is funded through public and private financing sources, including a $62 million construction loan from Merchants Bank, $58 million in Freddie Mac future permanent financing provided by Merchants Capital, $15 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits through Red Stone Equity, and $17 million in common equity provided by MSquared, LMXD and MCI Collective. Additional financing came from the City of Newark and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits issued by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.

Mayor Ras Baraka called the project a “typically bold and exciting move by one of our state’s greatest cultural institutions.”

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), a former city council president in Newark, agreed with Baraka.

“The Newark Museum is a gem in our city, and the Museum Parc will be a transformational addition to the campus, combining retail space, mixed income housing and more diverse art into one mixed-use space,” McIver said.

The project also picked up support from another lawmaker who represents Newark in the state Senate.

“Museum Parc is a visionary project that will continue to revitalize our downtown into a living, breathing work of art,” Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz said.

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