Newark: Real Estate, Development, News, & Politics

[scrollhectic]

Booker to announce move of Pitney Bowes international mail center to Newark

February 09, 2010 06:00PM By David Jones

The site at 158 Mount Olivet Avenue and Newark Mayor Corey Booker

Mayor Corey Booker is expected to announce a deal with Stamford, Conn.-based Pitney Bowes tonight, which signed a seven-year lease to relocate its international mail distribution center to Newark, a deal that will bring 180 jobs to the city and provide for another 25 new jobs over the next five years.

Pitney Bowes agreed to lease 76,000 square feet of space at 158 Mount Olivet Avenue, an existing Urban Enterprise Zone location that includes 64,000 square feet of production space and 12,000 square feet of office space. The new facility will be used to sort 50 million pieces of international mail per year. UEZ was established by the state of New Jersey in 1983 to revitalize urban communities and stimulate growth by encouraging businesses to develop and create private sector jobs through investment.

"This part of our business -- a combination of international mail and the pre-sorting of domestic mail -- has been a very rapidly growing part of Pitney Bowes," said spokesperson Matthew Broder, in a telephone interview. "As the network has grown, we've been on a pretty constant search for facilities to keep up with it."

The deal will be announced at Booker's annual State of the City address tonight at Newark Symphony Hall. The first employees are expected to move into the site next month.

The deal was finalized after Pitney Bowes hired Cushman & Wakefield to conduct an extended search for larger facilities. In 2003, Pitney originally acquired College Point, Queens-based International Mail Express, for $29 million and relocated that business to Clifton, N.J.

Newark's Brick City Development and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority helped negotiate the agreement for Pitney Bowes to locate its distribution center to Newark. The firm will receive a Business Relocation and Economic Assistance grant and a Business Employment Incentive Program grant for relocating here.

Broder said about a half dozen locations in New York and New Jersey were under consideration. He declined to disclose the names of the other cities. The firm has agreed to make a "good faith" effort to hire qualified residents of Newark to work at the facility.

In a statement, Booker said of the deal: "We are very pleased that Pitney Bowes, one of the nation's largest providers of international mail services, is recognizing Newark's ideal location for the logistics industry by moving a major business unit to our city."

[block944]

Oh well just a pipe dream, no anchor is going to move here in this economy i reached out to the developer


"Is there an estimated completion date for the Springfield Avenue Marketplace project?"

"Once we have secured an anchor we will have a better idea on timing. We will add you to our list so you are updated on the property. Thank you for your inquiry."


With that said a grocery store wont work there with pathmark so close. A target or walmart are the only 2 retailers that would work there and neither would work without a 2 story parking deck unless they are dependent on foot traffic as I measured the lot size and compared against other walmart and targets and they are all bigger than springfield market


https://ndex.ci.newark.nj.us/dsweb/G...evelopment.pdf

Just for kicks:

http://www.tuckerdevelopment.com/pro...p?StrSKU=SAMNJ



I can see my house, also that is a very recent picture as the park just opened and grass was just layed over the summer by the courthouse

[newarkdevil1]

I think any new "Big Box" retailers would have to prove they need new market share. Newark is surrounded by strip malls, malls and other large retailers, so what would make a corporate move in. The one thing that a project like this has going for it, is the sucess of Home Depot. I think that's store's sucess does prove that retail can thrive in center city if positioned to fill a need that is not properly being addressed. I also still think it's ludicrious to think that a Barnes and Noble or book retailer couldnt' do well next to the colleges.

[block944]

I think any new "Big Box" retailers would have to prove they need new market share. Newark is surrounded by strip malls, malls and other large retailers, so what would make a corporate move in. The one thing that a project like this has going for it, is the sucess of Home Depot. I think that's store's sucess does prove that retail can thrive in center city if positioned to fill a need that is not properly being addressed. I also still think it's ludicrious to think that a Barnes and Noble or book retailer couldnt' do well next to the colleges.

theft and vagrants would be sky high for a barnes and noble here in newark. I asked a manager that use to work at the Old navy why it closed down and they said theft and sky high rent.

[Marv95]

theft and vagrants would be sky high for a barnes and noble here in newark. I asked a manager that use to work at the Old navy why it closed down and they said theft and sky high rent.

Depends where you put it. Put it near the Old Navy and of course the chances of theft would be higher, but didn't they have an ant-theft device? But the lack of hiring local residents would help. They look out too much for their own kind, hence the increase of loss prevention reports.

[66nexus]

B&N and Old Navy are too entirely different scenarios. And it does indeed depend on where you put the store. As others stated, it would make more sense near the colleges. The store doesn't have to be super large either, they could fill a store on Halsey Street.

Also, as far as Old Navy is concerned, they were suffering on a national level and closed underperfoming stores (which isn't specific to Newark)

[newarkdevil1]

B&N and Old Navy are too entirely different scenarios. And it does indeed depend on where you put the store. As others stated, it would make more sense near the colleges. The store doesn't have to be super large either, they could fill a store on Halsey Street.

Also, as far as Old Navy is concerned, they were suffering on a national level and closed underperfoming stores (which isn't specific to Newark)

I'm with 66 on this, I defintely think a B&N would do well on Halsey, just as NJbooks has survived as along as it has on University. I also agree that I would rather have a micro approach with alot of different stores taking up less space. Old Navy was an island and NJ retail demainds more so as to compete with our malls. As I think I have posted in the past, the hotels will have to come first for anything to move along.

[Newarkguy]

Depends where you put it. Put it near the Old Navy and of course the chances of theft would be higher, but didn't they have an ant-theft device? But the lack of hiring local residents would help. They look out too much for their own kind, hence the increase of loss prevention reports.

That Old navy never should have been put there, in the old MACY BAMBERGERS building. This will offend some,but its the truth...downtown newark merchants, especially along Broad and Market street, cater NOT to the middle class or working Newarkers black or white/hisp&portuguese,but rather to the poor misguided black residents who think 160 dollar sneakers are a bargain. Most clothing is of hip hop styles at high ripoff prices. Thats why the stores and buildings are so delaphidated. The structural conditions of downtown Newark retail is clearly third world! Many stores buy gigantic signs to cover the crumbling structures rather than hehab. Besides, too many black folks see Old Navy as "WHITE" they don't sell hip hop fashion. I shopped Newark's OLD Navy, it was ALWAYS dead! Market street retail foot traffic is 90% black(go stand on any street corner) Yet Old Navy store had mostly "White ethnics" of portuguese,Brazilians as well as Puerto Ricans & other hispanics. Most hispanics shop at ferry street. An Old Navy in the middle class Ironbound made more sense. They could have tapped into the underserved West Hudson and northern Newark shoppers as well..

[block944]

B&N and Old Navy are too entirely different scenarios. And it does indeed depend on where you put the store. As others stated, it would make more sense near the colleges. The store doesn't have to be super large either, they could fill a store on Halsey Street.

Also, as far as Old Navy is concerned, they were suffering on a national level and closed underperfoming stores (which isn't specific to Newark)

B&N makes no sense here as NJIT, Essex and Rutgers has THEIR OWN LIBRARY that students can take books out for free, have large quite study areas and lounges, have free access to wifi and PCs and be semi gated so beggars and riff raff stay out. B&N would only be inhabited by the riff raff that wonder broad and market flipping through hip hop magazines and not buy anything or stealing. NJIT has its own star bucks too

[scrollhectic]

Redevelopment project in Lincoln Park section of Newark calls for 66 homes

By Philip Read/The Star-Ledger

February 14, 2010, 6:43AM

Patti Sapone/The Star Ledger Baye Adofo Wilson, executive director Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, near the ruins of South Park Presbyterian Church in Newark. Wilson just secured financing to create homes for 66 homes at four locations in Lincoln Park.

NEWARK -- Baye Adofo-Wilson, an Ivy League educated lawyer and urban planner, is a booster for Newark’s historic Lincoln Park section, deemed the "last frontier" of downtown development.

Its ills are still untamed, but Adofo-Wilson is plowing forward, having just secured financing to create 66 homes at four locations in the urban eco-village-in-the-making, now anchored by the grim ruins of South Park Presbyterian Church.

His newest housing project is to be "green," a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified collection of affordable one-, two- and three-bedroom rentals produced, in part, with local labor trained in sustainable energy.

The incomes on all 66 of the units will be limited to families earning no more that 50 percent of the Essex County median income, which ranges from a $32,850 income limit for a one-bedroom apartment to $45,550 for one with three bedrooms.

Construction begins in March at 15-17 Lincoln Park and 65 Lincoln Park — both in an historic district — and at 39-43 Beecher St. and 18-28 West Kinney. They’re expected to be finished the summer of 2011.
A $20 million grant from the New Jersey Housing and Finance Agency will help fund the project.

"I think Newark can be an example of how redevelopment works," Adofo-Wilson said. "There are a lot of assets here — not realized because it’s a poor community, a community of color."
SCOTT LITUCHY/THE STAR-LEDGERClement Price in a 2007 photo.

To Clement Price, a Rutgers history professor who moved with his wife to Lincoln Park 25 years ago, the arrival of the 66 homes can only benefit a neighborhood that has seen its share of "fits and starts."

"Symbolically, it’s a big gain for Lincoln Park," Price said. "It’s the last frontier of downtown residential and commercial development. I think it will almost bring back to life (former Newark Mayor) Ken Gibson’s old line, ‘Wherever American cities are going, Newark will get there first.’"

Adofo-Wilson has been dubbed a "Green Collar Hero." He has hit the speaker’s circuit, talking to college students and business people across the country about the bond between green jobs and the war on poverty. His non-profit’s web page proclaims, "We are our own agents of change."
When he isn’t traveling, Adofo-Wilson can be found at his offices at Washington Street Townhomes, a collection of six "green" houses that make up one of the newest additions to the 11-acre neighborhood.

To the Paterson native who grew up in a working-class household on 11th Avenue in that city’s Eastside and attended P.S. 26, it’s all about giving back.

His first brush with Newark was as a freshman at Rutgers-Newark. From there, he rode a fellowship to Cornell University, where he picked up his master’s in regional planning, and then on to University of Pennsylvania’s School of Law.

"As much as you take out, you put back in," he said matter-of-factly. "So I took a lot out. I have to put a lot in."

[block944]

Redevelopment project in Lincoln Park section of Newark calls for 66 homes

By Philip Read/The Star-Ledger

February 14, 2010, 6:43AM

Patti Sapone/The Star Ledger Baye Adofo Wilson, executive director Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, near the ruins of South Park Presbyterian Church in Newark. Wilson just secured financing to create homes for 66 homes at four locations in Lincoln Park.

NEWARK -- Baye Adofo-Wilson, an Ivy League educated lawyer and urban planner, is a booster for Newark’s historic Lincoln Park section, deemed the "last frontier" of downtown development.

Its ills are still untamed, but Adofo-Wilson is plowing forward, having just secured financing to create 66 homes at four locations in the urban eco-village-in-the-making, now anchored by the grim ruins of South Park Presbyterian Church.

His newest housing project is to be "green," a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified collection of affordable one-, two- and three-bedroom rentals produced, in part, with local labor trained in sustainable energy.

The incomes on all 66 of the units will be limited to families earning no more that 50 percent of the Essex County median income, which ranges from a $32,850 income limit for a one-bedroom apartment to $45,550 for one with three bedrooms.

Construction begins in March at 15-17 Lincoln Park and 65 Lincoln Park — both in an historic district — and at 39-43 Beecher St. and 18-28 West Kinney. They’re expected to be finished the summer of 2011.
A $20 million grant from the New Jersey Housing and Finance Agency will help fund the project.

"I think Newark can be an example of how redevelopment works," Adofo-Wilson said. "There are a lot of assets here — not realized because it’s a poor community, a community of color."
SCOTT LITUCHY/THE STAR-LEDGERClement Price in a 2007 photo.

To Clement Price, a Rutgers history professor who moved with his wife to Lincoln Park 25 years ago, the arrival of the 66 homes can only benefit a neighborhood that has seen its share of "fits and starts."

"Symbolically, it’s a big gain for Lincoln Park," Price said. "It’s the last frontier of downtown residential and commercial development. I think it will almost bring back to life (former Newark Mayor) Ken Gibson’s old line, ‘Wherever American cities are going, Newark will get there first.’"

Adofo-Wilson has been dubbed a "Green Collar Hero." He has hit the speaker’s circuit, talking to college students and business people across the country about the bond between green jobs and the war on poverty. His non-profit’s web page proclaims, "We are our own agents of change."
When he isn’t traveling, Adofo-Wilson can be found at his offices at Washington Street Townhomes, a collection of six "green" houses that make up one of the newest additions to the 11-acre neighborhood.

To the Paterson native who grew up in a working-class household on 11th Avenue in that city’s Eastside and attended P.S. 26, it’s all about giving back.

His first brush with Newark was as a freshman at Rutgers-Newark. From there, he rode a fellowship to Cornell University, where he picked up his master’s in regional planning, and then on to University of Pennsylvania’s School of Law.

"As much as you take out, you put back in," he said matter-of-factly. "So I took a lot out. I have to put a lot in."

Why are they constantly limiting housing in Newark to the low income class? Why not build housing for middle class with a family income of 80k or more? Already homes are sitting in that area empty, half finished, foreclosed so why build more and block out people that can actually afford to live there. How are property taxes going to be handled or are they getting a permanent tax abatement meaning no revenue back into the cities and local schools.

[66nexus]

B&N makes no sense here as NJIT, Essex and Rutgers has THEIR OWN LIBRARY that students can take books out for free, have large quite study areas and lounges, have free access to wifi and PCs and be semi gated so beggars and riff raff stay out. B&N would only be inhabited by the riff raff that wonder broad and market flipping through hip hop magazines and not buy anything or stealing. NJIT has its own star bucks too

This makes absolutely no sense whatsover:

'flipping through hip/hop magazines....'? I have no idea what that has to do with anything. That sounds more like an intimidated stance rather than a business stance.

According to your logic: B&N wouldn't work simply b/c the schools have their own libraries. When did this thing become only about college students?

Having worked in Follett Bookstores in the past, there are some books even a library doesn't carry (and some of the books they DO carry cannot be purchased) B&N would/could function as a feeder store for the surrounding bookstores (the way the planned B&N Rutgers NewBruns would)

The sheer number of colleges concentrated in Univ Heights means B&N WOULD work.

[66nexus]

I'm with 66 on this, I defintely think a B&N would do well on Halsey, just as NJbooks has survived as along as it has on University. I also agree that I would rather have a micro approach with alot of different stores taking up less space. Old Navy was an island and NJ retail demainds more so as to compete with our malls. As I think I have posted in the past, the hotels will have to come first for anything to move along.

Agreed

[block944]

This makes absolutely no sense whatsover:

'flipping through hip/hop magazines....'? I have no idea what that has to do with anything. That sounds more like an intimidated stance rather than a business stance.

According to your logic: B&N wouldn't work simply b/c the schools have their own libraries. When did this thing become only about college students?

Having worked in Follett Bookstores in the past, there are some books even a library doesn't carry (and some of the books they DO carry cannot be purchased) B&N would/could function as a feeder store for the surrounding bookstores (the way the planned B&N Rutgers NewBruns would)

The sheer number of colleges concentrated in Univ Heights means B&N WOULD work.

The colleges in newark are mostly commuter schools and kids will be going to bookstores in their local mall not there in newark. Again the school's libraries carry the same books and whatever they can't get they can get at Amazon. Open a book store in downtown newark and on cold days the homeless with flock inside the store.

If it would work here then B&N would of came by now, their marketing team knows what its doing and Sharpe James was more than willing to give tax breaks and dirty deals to make it happen.



Even hoboken couldn't keep their store open for a city filled with writers, artists and readers due to theft and people just browsing and using the store as a library plus sky high rent: http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_...ry_left_column






The B & N coming to New Brunswick is due to a true foot traffic area where doctors and upper class residents live at 1 Spring St, as well as a non commuter school with 4 campuses and a TON of students, a ton of families in Highland park and the New brunswick station being a high commute area for people going to New York,as well as all the trendy downtown eateries and hangouts, top division football team etc... all of which newark does not have.


Instead Newark wants to cater to the low income families by building tons of low income homes and nothing for middle or high income families who can create a real tax base for newark.

[66nexus]

The schools in newark are mostly commuter schools and kids will be going to bookstores in their local mall not there in newark. Again the school's libraries carry the same books and whatever they can't get they can get at Amazon. Open a book store in downtown newark and on cold days the homeless with flock inside the store.

If it would work here then B&N would of came by now, their marketing team knows what its doing and Sharpe James was more than willing to give tax breaks and dirty deals to make it happen.



Even hoboken couldn't keep their store open due to theft and people just browsing and using the store as a library plus sky high rent: http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_...ry_left_column

I'm beginning to realize that you make wild assumptions based on...well I'm not sure what your assumptions are based on.

First off, your first statement is an assumption in and of itself: how can you be sure ALL students leave Newark to get their books? (which isn't true anyway). A more likely scenario is that they go off-campus (or outside the city) when they can't find a particular book.

If you think school libraries always carry the same books as B&N you are terribly mistaken.

In regards to the Hoboken store, the only real element you mention that closed the store was the high and increasing rent.

http://hoboken.patch.com/articles/en...ble-in-hoboken

As I earlier stated, a B&N in Newark wouldn't have to occupy an enormous space. A spot on Halsey (which has obvious student traffic) should suffice.