Firm To Begin Conversion Of Branford Place Building In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — A real estate firm is set to kick off an “extensive renovation and conversion” of the 84,000-square-foot building at 20-24 Branford Place in Newark, it recently announced.

Paramount Assets bought the former Chamber of Commerce building in December 2020, according to a news release.

The purchase followed a nearly seven-month period where Paramount made an offer to sell the property back for “no profit” to the former owner – Islamic Society of Essex County (ISEC) – or to a group of its former worshippers who sued ISEC over the sale, spokespeople said.

That offer was an attempt to ease tensions between those parties, Paramount stated.

According to the firm:

“Before the sale, ISEC had its headquarters and a prayer hall in the Branford Place building. During informal mediation by the City of Newark, Paramount proposed reversing the sales transaction so ISEC and/or the group of worshippers could have the property back.”

“Soon after our purchase, some of the worshippers at the ISEC’s former prayer hall in the building began opposing the deal, as they had a sentimental tie to the facility,” said Rich Dunn, Paramount’s senior vice president.

“The property was offered for sale in an open and competitive bidding process by the ISEC, and Paramount won the right to buy the building – which we did,” Dunn said.

“However, to help resolve the challenging situation between the seller and some of its worshippers, we offered ISEC and a group of worshippers the option to reverse the sale and buy the building back,” he added. “The ISEC had no interest in reversing the sale since the organization was thrilled with its new newly renovated and modern building on nearby Hill Street.”

According to Paramount:

“Early this year, the City of Newark and its administration began an informal mediation and convened all the parties to seek a resolution to the situation. Paramount first offered ISEC the opportunity to reverse the sale in February 2021. The purchase offer was then extended by Paramount to the group of former worshippers in April 2021. Paramount set a September 30, 2021, deadline for worshippers to close on the deal, however that did not occur.”

The firm continued:

“Paramount bought the 11-story Branford Place building in December, and ISEC used the proceeds of the sale to purchase 9-13 Hill Street in Newark to serve as its new headquarters. This property – just four blocks from the 20-24 Branford Place building – is across from Newark’s city hall. ISEC opened a prayer hall in this new location in January, and is planning to offer a range of community services in the building.”

According to the firm, it has made an offer to the group of former ISEC worshippers that would allow them to continue holding their prayers in the 20-24 Branford Place building. The still-open offer is to develop a street-level worship center that could be used for the group’s services.

“Paramount has deep roots in Newark, and we wanted an outcome that would benefit everyone involved,” Dunn said. “We worked with the mayor’s office, city council members, and the group of former ISEC worshippers for months to develop a resolution to this challenging situation, however, an agreeable reversal of sale never materialized.”

The building, which is currently office space with a small segment of retail, will be converted into approximately 80 rental apartments – with an affordable housing component – plus ground-level retail space.

After city review, the renovation could begin in the spring of 2022 and apartment occupancy could commence by summer 2023, the firm stated.

“We have worked very extensively to help resolve this conflict between the seller and some of its former worshippers,” Dunn said. “As many in the community have seen 20-24 Branford Place as their home for worship, we are trying to preserve that by proposing a worship space in the renovated property. The building also has the potential to become the home for many Newark residents.”

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