Carmelo G. Garcia (front row, second from left), deputy mayor and chief of development for the city of Newark and franchisee Syed Raza (front row, second from right) were among those on hand in early December to mark the opening of a new 7-Eleven at Ironbound Plaza in Newark. — Courtesy: Paramount Assets
By Joshua Burd
Paramount Assets has completed its adaptive reuse of a historic bank building in Newark’s Ironbound section, welcoming 7-Eleven as the last of its two tenants.
The developer and others gathered earlier this month at 2 Ferry St., now known as Ironbound Plaza, to mark the grand opening of the 2,500-square-foot store. The convenience chain joins Blink Fitness at the triangular property, which sits at the corner of Market Street and is adjacent to Newark Penn Station.
“In redeveloping Ironbound Plaza, we recognized an excellent opportunity to reposition and repopulate an historically significant property,” said Richard Dunn, senior vice president of Paramount Assets. “7-Eleven is ideally suited to serve the city’s growing residential population, as well as CBD commercial occupants.
“Welcoming another national retail tenant to this property underscores the exciting revitalization currently underway in downtown Newark.”
The limestone-clad building, which was first built as a bank and later converted for medical use, was vacant when Paramount acquired it last year. The developer said it preserved many original features in the redesign, including its architecturally distinctive façade.
The street-level 7-Eleven occupies the tip of the triangle-shaped building and is accessed via the original grand staircase and revolving door, according to a news release. The store and Blink Fitness are poised to benefit from Newark Penn Station’s weekday pedestrian traffic count of more than 18,000 people.
Urszula Zoltek of Zoltek Realty represented 7-Eleven in the lease.
