New Jersey - Newark - Prudential Center IMG 2295 - National Newark Building - Leecourt-Newark Building - Penn Station

Mulberry Commons is a public park in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Downtown surrounded by Gateway Center,

Newark Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as Newark Penn Station) is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, ...

, Government Center and

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...

, a 19,000 seat arena which opened in 2007. The city had acquired the deed to the park land in conjunction with the construction of the arena, but the project had not been further developed. In March 2016,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Ras J. Baraka Ras Jua Baraka (born April 9, 1970) is an American educator, author, and politician who is the 40th and current Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He was previously a member of the Municipal Council of Newark and the principal of the city's Central ...

announced a request for proposal for the park design. An official ground breaking ceremony took place October 2, 2017, and official opening of the first phase of the park took place May 30, 2019. It includes a city square of . Phase 2 of the park calls for a

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

of over

McCarter Highway Route 21 is a state highway in northern New Jersey, running from the Newark Airport Interchange with U.S. Route 1/9 (US 1-9) and US 22 in Newark, Essex County to an interchange with US 46 in Clifton, Passaic County. The rou ...

and the Northeast Corridor with direct access to the train platforms at Penn Station. It will connect to the

Ironbound The Ironbound is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a large working-class multi-ethnic community, covering approximately of well maintained streets and homes. Historically, the area was cal ...

neighborhood and a link to

Newark Riverfront Park Newark Riverfront Park is a park and promenade being developed in phases along the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The park, expected to be long and encompass , is being created from brownfield sites along the river, which it ...

. The area around the Mulberry Commons, much of it owned by Edison Properties, will be developed by the company and other partners, initially converting the Newark Warehouse Building into retail and commercial space called Ironside Newark.

Site and land acquisition

Chinatown

The park is near what was once the heart of Newark's Chinatown in the early 20th century. Only several hundred Chinese remain in the immediate area out of what were once thousands.

Central Railroad of New Jersey

The site was earlier the

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...

of the western terminus of the

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

Newark and New York Railroad The Newark and New York Railroad was a passenger rail line that ran between Downtown Newark and the Communipaw Terminal at the mouth of the North River (Hudson River) in Jersey City, bridging the Hackensack River and Passaic River just north ...

until service was discontinued and was used as a parking lot operated by Edison Park Fast operations, which owns numerous lots in the city.

Triangle Park

The park was originally called Triangle Park. The site is a parcel of approximately in the shape of a triangle. It is situated within the larger block bounded by Edison Place, Lafayette Street,

and Mulberry Street. The city acquired the land for the arena and park under the auspices of the Newark Downtown Core Redevelopment Corporation (NDCRC) for about $9.4 million in a series of complex purchase and transfer transactions with landowners Jose Lopez (a prominent local restaurateur)and Edison Properties, among others. The NDCRC was disbanded in April 2011 amid accusations of mismanagement. The land was transferred to the Newark Housing Authority in February 2015.

Park proposals

ScreenshNewark&NYRRbridgeoverNECPennStation2

The park was first proposed to act as a

city square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

for new residential and commercial buildings in the district around the Prudential Center. Edison Properties, which owns development sites on the periphery of the proposed park, had previous agreements with the city and proposed more a passive park with open space. It promoted the adaption of the former CNJ bridge to pedestrian walkway

over McCarter Highway, the Northeast Corridor rail tracks south of Penn Station, and NJ Railroad Avenue to the city's

neighborhood, with a projected timeline of 2007 and an estimated cost between $40-$60 million. In February 2015, the

Municipal Council of Newark The Municipal Council is the legislative branch of government for Newark, New Jersey. Newark was governed by a mayor and common council from 1836 to 1917 and then by a five-member commission until 1954. Effective as of July 1, 1954, the voters of ...

heard proposals for development of the park, which would change the original vision of the park and potential stakeholders. The city had opted to work with Boraie Development (developers of

50 Rector Park 50 Rector Park is an apartment building in Newark, New Jersey, the first market rate residential high-rise to be newly built in the city since 1962. Originally called One Riverview and later 1 Rector Street, there was a groundbreaking in 2013, bu ...

), which had a proposal that included retail and entertainment facilities. According to Mayor Ras J. Baraka, the development of a 125,000-square-foot passive park would cost the city about $200,000 to $300,000 a year to maintain. Baraka stated that it was "a very valuable piece of land" and should proceed with ratables. In March 2016, the city announced a new plan to build a 2.5-acre public park and a footbridge of with a direct connection to the train platforms at

ending at a park in the

named for

Peter Francisco Peter Francisco (born Pedro Francisco; July 7, 1760 – January 16, 1831) known variously as the "India", the "Giant of the Revolution" and occasionally the "Virginia Hercules", was a Portuguese-born American patriot and soldier in the America ...

. Edison Properties as well as other stakeholders including the Prudential Center, the New Jersey Devils, and J&L Parking Corporation, have contributed funds and will oversee the development of the remaining acreage for commercial and residential uses.

Commercial development

The Newark Warehouse Building, a 1907 Newark landmark also known as the Central Graphic Arts Building, is located between the northeastern side of the park site and Edison Place. The first commercial project is the transformation of the building into Ironside Newark, following a design by

Perkins Eastman 'Perkins Eastman'' is an international architecture, interior design, urban design, planning, landscape architecture, graphic design, and project management firm. Headquartered in New York City, the firm is led by founding Principals Bradford Per ...

. M&M Mars-Wrigley signed a lease in 2017 for several floors in the building for office space. Some employees will be relocated here from their Chicago headquarters. Edison Properties will also locate its headquarters there. Two prominent law firms have committed as well. The City of Newark Parking Authority has constructed a five-story parking deck with 515 spaces with ground floor retail space, a cafe with outdoor seating and offices to house the agency at the intersection of Mulberry St. & Green St. 777 McCarter Highway is a 33 story, tall upscale residential building designed by

Beyer Blinder Belle Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP (BBB) is an international architecture firm. It is based in New York City and has an additional office in Washington, DC. The firm's name is derived from the three founding partners: John H. Beyer, Ri ...

approved by the city in 2018.

References

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External links

Mulberry Commons official website
Squares in Newark, New Jersey Parks in Essex County, New Jersey