Newark Reborn: Hahne and Company Building Revived To Fanfare

NEWARK, NJ — Many residents recognize the recently opened Hahne & Company building in downtown Newark as the future home of the city’s first Whole Foods. But the reopening of the historic building means much more to the city and its continued development landscape than just groceries.

The 400,000 square-foot building at 609 Broad Street has stood vacant after shutting its doors nearly three decades ago. But during a highly publicized grand opening ceremony on Monday, dozens of city officials, project financiers and other stakeholders gathered to get a view of the $174 million, public-private venture, which will include mixed-income housing, 75,000 square feet of retail space and 100,000 square feet of commercial, community and office uses.

The building will house Newark’s first Whole Foods grocery and an art and cultural center for Rutgers University, city officials said.

• See related article: Newark Whole Foods: 110 Jobs Expected At New Broad Street Location
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Project stakeholders and financers include Goldman Sachs, the Newark Municipal Council, L+M Development Partners, Prudential Financial, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, Citibank, NJ Community Capital, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), The Reinvestment Fund, Rutgers University, the State of New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA), the Economic Development Association of New Jersey (EDA) and the NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA).

The project was accomplished with support from local co-developers Hanini Group and Crawford Street Partners, officials said.

“The revitalization of the building, which is being undertaken by L+M Development Partners, Prudential Financial, Inc., Goldman Sachs and Citibank, was designed to catalyze economic development, create jobs and reestablish Newark's identity as a center for art, commerce, and technological innovation,” city officials previously stated. “The project is a crucial component in building a 24/7 neighborhood to link the diverse communities located in the downtown area.”

In addition to retail, commercial and community space, the development includes 160 new apartments, 64 of which are set aside as affordable homes for low-income and working families earning between 40 and 60 percent AMI. The new homes are located on the third and fourth floors of the existing Hahne’s building and in a new nine-story residential building on the corner of New and Halsey Streets, which will connect to Hahne’s through a shared lobby and public atrium.

Local residents will also benefit from chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, who plans to open a 2,250 square-foot restaurant on the Halsey Street side of the building.

“The revitalization of this iconic structure has married the grandeur of our past with the possibilities of our future,” Mayor Ras Baraka said. “The reopening of the Hahne & Company building also bridges many of us, as native Newarkers, with our parents, grandparents, and families who once spent time shopping within these walls.”

“The completion of the Hahne’s building brings Newark full circle,” Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins said. “As a lifelong resident of the city, I have fond memories of shopping at the old Hahne’s department store with my parents for hours and was saddened, like many Newarkers, when it closed.”

Photos: Agata Domanska, Domanska Photography

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