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“Completing the renovation of the
Learning & Engagement Center is
a major move
for us — it’s a
game-changer
in making the
museum a truly
welcoming and
accessible space
for the whole
community,”
Shirley Thomas Ward
said Shirley
Thomas Ward, The Newark Museum
of Art’s deputy director of learning
and engagement.
MUSEUM PARC DEVELOPMENT
UPDATE
The new Museum Parc residences,
which have yet to be formally
named, are slated for completion
in early 2027. The developers will
maintain a long-term, nominal lease,
with the museum for the signature
gallery space that will be housed on
the ground fl oor of its community,
LMXD’s Pine said. The architect of
record for Museum Parc is Inglese
Architecture + Engineering of Cedar
Grove.
Designed to complement the museum
and be inclusive with a mixed-income
component, the two buildings are
being constructed with a blend
of masonry and stone. At Central
Avenue and Washington Street is a
six-story structure, while the other
is a 12-story tower at the corner of
Central and University avenues and
intended to somewhat mirror the
Rutgers-Newark campus across the
way. Both residential buildings have
topped out. The developers’ goal
is to install the windows and get
them closed in so builders can begin
working on the inside by this year’s
end.
“We also want this to be really
viewed as kind of a gateway to the
arts and education district, and to
really attract and bring folks in the
college through our site and into
Harriet Tubman Square,” said Pine, a
managing director with New York-
based LMXD.
In addition to Museum Parc, LMXD
and MCI Collective are expanding
the New Jersey Performing Arts
Center campus, also in Newark’s
downtown. That $336 million project
includes 350 new apartments, retail
and offi ce space and a 58,000-square-
foot education center, along with a
revitalization of NJPAC’s building on
Center Street, just west of McCarter
Highway.
ONGOING MUSEUM CAMPUS
TRANSFORMATION
The fi rst part of The Newark Museum
of Art’s master plan included the
adaptive reuse of The Ballantine
House. That $12 million restoration
took two years to address the historic
mansion’s three-story exterior and
interior, including 27 rooms, originally
designed by architect George Edward
Harney for Jeanette and John
Ballantine in the late 1800s, according
to the museum’s website.
Next came its renovation of the
Learning & Engagement Center,
which began about six months ago
A L A N D LO R D
P E R SP EC T I V E O N
A LT E R N AT I V E
R E TA I L L E A SES :
N OT R E TA I L YO U R L E A SE
AV E R AG E
By Adriana M. Peters and Hannah E. Duus
Today, many people browse online, and their
favorite shopping center (if it still exists) may be
struggling to backfill vacant space. With once-
-popular retailers downsizing or ceasing to exist
altogether, owners of retail centers need to
consider substitutes for traditional retailers to
maintain occupancy, and “alternative retail”
operators can be the solution to vacancy concerns.
Alternative retail typically refers to those tenants
primarily offering services or experiences, rather
than goods for sale. Your favorite fitness center, the
indoor trampoline park, and the new restaurant
concept with outdoor seating, are some examples
of the alternative retail tenants leasing spaces
once occupied by popular retailers such as Big
Lots and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Landlords need to take into consideration factors
which are not typically a concern when leasing to
clothing or other dry goods retailers. A landlord’s
failure to account for the differences needed in
lease agreements with an alternative retailer
could create operational issues for a landlord’s
shopping center, and pose problems with co-
-tenants, adjacent property owners, and local
government. This article raises issues that a
landlord should consider for some of the more
popular alternative retailer uses.
Restaurant Tenants
Restaurants often help drive traffic to a shopping
center. Where a shopping center or mall once had
smaller quick-service food offerings, full-service
restaurants are leasing spaces once considered
prime space for traditional retailers. Food and
beverage uses require different infrastructure than
traditional retail stores, including fire suppression
systems, grease traps, ventilation systems, and
increased HVAC and utility services. The lease
should address which of the foregoing are required
for a tenant’s operation, and assign responsibility
for their installation, maintenance and repair.
Given that restaurants also produce more trash
than an average tenant, and may emit strong
food odors, landlords will want to ensure that the
™ 21
Daniela Palacio of PARA Kids reads to children in the newly renovated Learning &
Engagement Center at The Newark Museum of Art, designed by KSS Architects.
lease includes requirements for trash storage and
removal, pest control treatment, and odor mitigation,
if needed.
Fitness Centers
Between large gyms offering a variety of equipment
and classes, to smaller, targeted fitness users
like yoga, Pilates and boutique training studios,
fitness centers have created a use for both former
big-box retail spaces to smaller in-line shopping
center spaces. Fitness spaces need to withstand
heavy, regular use. Landlords need to ensure that
the floor load can tolerate the equipment’s weight,
and the lease should provide for installation of
additional structural supports, if needed, for
equipment affixed to the premises. Humidity control
for fitness space is often overlooked. Condensation
and lingering humidity can damage walls, doors,
window and door frames, and perhaps more
concerning, cause mold growth. Landlords can
require humidity monitors, de-humidifiers, vapor
barriers, and other humidity and mold mitigation
measures to address these issues.
Experiential Tenants
The “experiential tenant” category can cover
everything from theaters and indoor amusement
parks to pickleball courts and golf simulators.
Like fitness centers, structural integrity supporting
the use is essential. However, safety becomes a
priority when tenants provide potentially dangerous
activities. Landlords will want to ensure tenants
meet and maintain safety standards and employee
training requirements. Landlords should reserve
the right to implement additional safety standards
if required by their insurance carrier, and have the
right to inspect the experiential tenant’s operation
to ensure compliance.
Other Considerations
Parking. Alternative retail customers tend to utilize
parking spaces for longer periods than traditio-
nal retail customers. If parking is limited at the
shopping center, landlords can restrict customer
parking to certain areas, certain times, or for
restaurants, require valet service.
Noise. Sound mitigation measures for music,
vibrations, and other noise heard or felt outside
the premises should be considered and implemented.
Even in a single tenant building, landlords should
require tenants to comply with noise ordinances,
especially when the building is close to residential
neighbors inclined to complain if, for example, a
restaurant’s music is too loud.
Restrictions and Zoning. In-place leases may
contain restrictions that limit alternative retail
uses to maintain parking availability or a favorable
tenant mix. Landlords should avoid inadvertently
violating restrictions in current leases. Additionally,
landlords will want to ensure that the use is
permitted per zoning, and if not, determine which
party is obtaining use approvals.
Adriana M. Peters, is a Member of the
firm’s Real Estate Group. She brings
more than 20 years of in-house and
private experience directing legal efforts
with regard to real estate development,
construction and finance – and is a
trusted advisor to local, regional and
national landlords and tenants on
commercial leasing matters spanning
all asset types. She can be reached at
[email protected] or (973) 530-2090.
Hannah E. Duus is an Associate with
the firm’s Real Estate Group. She can
be reached at [email protected] or
(973) 530-2319.
For more information regarding commercial
leasing/real estate, please contact Adriana
Peters or Hannah Duus at CSG Law.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
CHIESA SHAHINIAN & GIANTOMASI PC
csglaw.com
Photo by Alexander Severin/Courtesy: NMOA