Newark Development Partners continues to make strides in Downtown Newark

Megan Ernest

Newark Development Partners (NDP), the community improvement corporation for the City of Newark, continues to further development in the Downtown through various projects. The sale of the Hudson Avenue Church with surrounding property, the renewal of the Downtown Special Improvement District and the commencement of construction at the Historic Arcade are all recent successes for the City of Newark.

Last year, NDP purchased a historic church located on Hudson Avenue, just north of Downtown. The church, which is a staple of the Hudson Avenue corridor, had been home to two churches and a children’s theatre before becoming a blighted property. NDP began the process of revitalizing the historic property, and soon found a partner, Monte Christopher, to purchase the property and take over revitalization plans. Scholar House Media and Cyanna Education Services, Monte Christopher companies, will call the church on Hudson home when restoration and build out is complete. These two businesses will be new to the Newark area. Scholar House Media is a production company that offers branding and design, content creation, video production, web development, digital advertising, and search engine optimization to clients of all sizes and industries. Cyanna is an education consultancy, that develops customized content and platforms for education and workforce training.

Downtown Newark’s Special Improvement District (SID) is now in the process of it’s first renewal. In 2017, the Downtown SID began it’s first of five years, with a concentration in three areas of service: Beautification, Safety Patrol and Parking Enforcement. As 2022 was the fifth year for the SID, board members began to seek approval of the property owners to file a renewal. Over sixty percent of property owners agreed to the renewal and now the Downtown Newark SID will run for another five years beginning in 2023.

The revitalization of the Historic Arcade has been a huge project for NDP. The building, which was purchased in November 2019, has seen a huge improvement in the past two years, and it will continue to get better. Through the different funding sources of State Historic Tax Credits, Federal Historic Tax Credits, Transformational Mixed Use Development Tax Credits, State Capital Improvement grant, and private donors, the Historic Arcade will be brought back to its historic relevance. Set to be completed in February 2024, the Arcade will be home to up to 24 commercial spaces, 19 loft units and a community event space used for Winter’s Farmers Market and community activities.

For more information on NDP projects, please email Megan at megan@newarkcic.com