Two Gateway Center in Newark — File photo
By Joshua Burd
NJ Transit and Onyx Equities have revealed new details about their 25-year lease in downtown Newark, where the agency will occupy some 407,000 square feet for its new headquarters.
According to state officials, NJ Transit will occupy eight floors at Two Gateway Center starting in early 2024, allowing it to relocate from nearby Penn Plaza East after several decades to a highly visible, newly renovated building with overall rent costs of $440 million. Onyx, for its part, says it has agreed to provide roughly $135 per square foot in tenant improvement allowances and a new HVAC system — equivalent to nearly $70 million in concessions — allowing the agency to occupy the completed space with limited capital investment.
The deal at 283-299 Market St. — which follows what NJ Transit described as a competitive procurement process, the unanimous approval of its board and authorization to proceed by the Office of the State Comptroller — will house around 1,600 employees of the country’s largest transit system. Officials also see it as a way to attract and retain professional staff and allow for consolidation of administrative employees from other locations throughout the state.
“NJ Transit’s new headquarters will provide a more efficient and collaborative workspace for NJ Transit’s employees who design, build and operate our transit system,” said Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, commissioner of the state Department of Transportation and NJ Transit board chair.
Critics have called on the cash-strapped agency to remain in its current space, which it owns, but NJ Transit noted that the building is more than 30 years old and would require some $120 million in repairs and renovations over the next six years, including complete overhauls and replacements to elevators and the HVAC and other systems. The work would require temporarily relocating employees, significantly disrupting the work environment, productivity and the efficient management of the transit system.
At Two Gateway, it retains direct connections to Newark Penn Station via the complex’s pedestrian bridge and Gateway’s new street-level entrance just across from the station’s historic waiting room. The deal also follows Onyx and its partners’ purchase of One, Two and Four Gateway and a sweeping renovation of the landmark property, including a massive overhaul of the its signature concourse to create a reimagined, 100,000-square-foot dining and retail hub that is now coming online.
“Onyx acquired Gateway in late 2018 with a vision of creating a new front door to Newark through its connectivity to Newark Penn Station,” the firm wrote in a news release Tuesday. “Last year we completed a four-year, $60 million common area renovation program during which we leased or renewed more than 800,000 square feet of space to esteemed tenants in legal, internet, government, finance and other enterprises. We are grateful to be participating the renaissance of the city of Newark, and providing a home to the next generation of NJ Transit employees who will enjoy the convenience and quality we created at Gateway.”
NJ Transit will occupy eight floors, some of them partially, under a lease that accounts for more than half of Two Gateway.
“NJ Transit has always been committed to keeping our presence in Newark, the city which has been our home since our creation more than 40 years ago,” NJ Transit CEO and President Kevin S. Corbett said. “NJ Transit has now negotiated a lease agreement that provides the best value for New Jersey’s taxpayers, for our customers, and our employees. This new headquarters provides the modern office environment required to properly run the nation’s largest statewide transit system.”
Meantime, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration has committed more than $190 million to renovating and restoring Newark Penn Station.
Onyx, NJ Transit ink 407,000 sq. ft. lease at Newark’s Gateway, boosting Q2 office market
