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By Joseph Dobrian Photograph by Roy Gumpel
The building that was never going to be built, in the city nobody would ever come to, is still going strong after 12 years—and still attracting people to Newark. Today, it looks like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) will thrive for a long time yet and—despite difficult economic conditions—will continue serving as a catalyst for the growth of downtown Newark. Campaign for NJPAC, the latest fundraising drive, has already exceeded its goal of $180 million. And a healthy NJPAC means more retail, office, residential, and educational development in downtown Newark.
This year, NJPAC’s biggest news has been that Two Center Street, an adjacent site, has been made a top development priority by Brick City Development Corp. The development will be a partnership between NJPAC and Dranoff Properties, Inc. of Philadelphia, and the final product will be Newark’s tallest building. It will include about 300 residential units—the first new residential construction in downtown Newark in more than 40 years—higher-end retail, and hidden parking space.
According to Marc E. Berson, one of NJPAC’s founding trustees and chairman of Fidelco Group, this project is evidence of the success of NJPAC’s original mission—to become an economic engine for the redevelopment of Newark and reach out to all segments of its population. “NJPAC’s mission is fundamentally unchanged,” he says. “It has become a huge community resource and has set the standard for the renaissance of Newark.”
Although a true 24/7 community has not yet established itself around NJPAC, Berson believes it’s getting there. Residential communities are springing up, including student housing associated with Rutgers University and Seton Hall University School of Law, plus luxury housing at 1180 Raymond Boulevard. A nearby landmark, 744 Broad Street, has been restored as a state-of-the art office building, and restaurants and other retail continue to come on board, albeit slowly.
“Larry [Lawrence P.] Goldman, our president and CEO, started out on the right foot by making sure that the workforce that built NJPAC was local and diverse, and the programming has been diverse, too—not just driven by the almighty profit,” Berson explains. “We’ve set a standard for arts centers everywhere, in terms of architecture and programming.”
Painting a quick picture of what one might encounter at NJPAC on a given day, Berson tells the story of a visit last year by Fernando Pimentel, mayor of the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte:
“We walked him through the downstairs part of the center, where Panasonic was sponsoring a robot-building contest for state high schools,” Berson recalls. “Kids were hanging over the balconies on the main level, watching the competition. We then took the mayor over to Prudential Hall, where the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra happened to be practicing. The mayor’s first reaction was, ‘The acoustics are incredible.’ This experience showed us how NJPAC has become a vibrant community place, with various programs geared towards its mission. It represents a rebirth of belief in the city, and has shown the community how to get things done.”
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