With renters flocking to Walker House’s 264 apartments and commitments from a host of retailers, L+M Development Partners is keenly focused on the third piece of its formula. The New York-based developer, alongside brokers with JLL, has stepped up efforts to market more than 50,000 square feet of available office space at the building, touting the promise of downtown Newark’s resurgence and a workplace that is like few others in New Jersey.
Making a market: Developers, city officials look ahead as renters arrive in downtown Newark
A new stock of luxury, market-rate apartments is beginning to take shape in downtown Newark, where stakeholders hope to attract the type of rental population that can create a 24-hour, seven-day neighborhood that has long eluded the central business district.
Developers say they’re encouraged by the early returns, but are preparing for the market to be tested by larger-scale projects and an influx of additional units. City officials are also preparing for what could be a dramatic uptick in interest from builders — which they will have to balance with public policy goals such as expanding affordable housing for Newark residents.
Taking cues
Newark’s dedicated blue-chip employers and anchor institutions have virtually all expanded or made commitments to grow, leading to billions of dollars’ worth of new commercial development. It’s a major reason why developers believe the time is right to, once and for all, bring new market-rate apartments to Newark’s central business district.
