50 Rector Park is an apartment building in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, the first market rate residential high-rise to be newly built in the city since 1962. Originally called One Riverview and later 1 Rector Street, there was a groundbreaking in 2013, but construction did not begin at the site until the spring of 2017. It was topped out in April 2018 and opened June 2019.

Location

50 Rector Park is adjacent to the

New Jersey Performing Arts Center The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in Downtown Newark in Newark, New Jersey, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than nine million visitors (incl ...

(NJPAC) and next to the center's education facility at 24 Rector Street in

Downtown Newark Downtown Newark is the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark located at a bend in th ...

. It is near

McCarter Highway Route 21 is a state highway in Northern New Jersey, running from the Newark Airport Interchange with US 1-9 and US 22 in Newark, Essex County to an interchange with US 46 in Clifton, Passaic County. The route is a four- to ...

, across from which is

Newark Riverfront Park Newark Riverfront Park is a park and promenade being developed in phases along the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Essex County Park System. The park, expected to be long and encompass , is being created fr ...

on the

Passaic River The Passaic River ( or ) is a river, approximately long, in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburb ...

. The NJPAC-Center Street station of the

Newark Light Rail The Newark Light Rail (NLR) is a light rail system serving Newark, New Jersey, and surrounding areas, owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by its bus operations division. The service consists of two segments, the original Newark City Subwa ...

is a block away;

Newark Penn Station Newark Penn Station is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, making it the seventh busiest rai ...

is a few short blocks away. The building is seen as a major boost to the Newark's ''Living Downtown Plan'', an effort to create transform Downtown from a 9–5 work place to a vibrant 24/7 community. It is one of several residential projects slated for the area around a renovated Military Park and nearby Washington Park. Other projects include the adaptive re-use of the

American Insurance Company Building The American Insurance Company Building is one of the oldest and tallest skyscrapers in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Located at 15 Washington Street on Washington Park it was once headquarters for the American Insurance C ...

, the former flagship department store of

Hahne and Company Hahne & Company (pronounced Hayne), commonly known as Hahne's, was a department store chain based in Newark, New Jersey. The chain had stores located throughout the Central Jersey, central and North Jersey, northern areas of New Jersey. Hist ...

, the

New Jersey Bell Headquarters Building The New Jersey Bell Headquarters Building is located in Newark, New Jersey, Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The building was built in 1929 by the New Jersey Bell, New Jersey Bell Telephone Company and w ...

, and the new construction of

One Theater Square One Theater Square is a mixed-use (residential and commercial) building in Newark, New Jersey. It is located across from Military Park and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, which inspired its name. Completed in 2018, it includes the first ...

, among others.

Design

The complex was originally planned to incorporate an historic six-story building that was once part of

Ballantine Brewery P. Ballantine & Sons Brewing Company is a beer brand that was founded in 1845 in Newark, New Jersey. At its peak in the mid-20th century, it was the third-largest brewer in the United States, trailing only Anheuser-Busch and Schlitz. The brand ...

. It was later used by the University of Newark then two years later the NJ Law School joined, becoming

Rutgers School of Law Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

and until 2006 the city's Science High School. A new 26-story high-rise was to be built adjacent to it, incorporating the landmark, but the brewery/school building was eventually demolished. The new building has 169 rental units and 7,640 square feet of ground floor retail space as well 117 tenant parking spaces.

Developers

50 Rector Park is a collaboration by Newark native

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

and New Brunswick-based Boraie Development. The project received a

New Jersey Economic Development Authority The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) is an independent government entity in the U.S. state of New Jersey dedicated to broadening and expanding the state's economic base. The EDA creates public-private partnerships to provide acce ...

Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit and the

Municipal Council of Newark The Municipal Council is the legislative branch of government for Newark, New Jersey. Newark was governed by a mayor and common council from 1836 to 1917 and then by a five-member commission until 1954. Effective as of July 1, 1954, the voters o ...

adopted a resolution for $5 million tax credit in February 2013.

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

has provided financing, while Newark-based

Prudential Financial Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American financial services company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both Investor#Retail_investor, retail and institutional cus ...

bought re-development area bonds issued by the city. The One Riverview project initiated work in September 2013. O'Neal has stated that he plans to move into the top floor when the tower is completed and that he would then like his "mother to come back here and just smile".

References

{{Reflist

External links

Just Architecture: rendering

2019 establishments in New Jersey Residential skyscrapers in Newark, New Jersey Apartment buildings in Newark, New Jersey Residential buildings completed in 2019

Location

Design

Developers

See also

References

External links