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The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) has announced a three-year redevelopment of its 2-acre downtown Newark campus. The project, designed by architectural firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), and Weiss/Manfredi, has recently broken ground and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2027. It integrates 350 mixed-income residential units, retail spaces, and a dynamic education and community center, in addition to rehearsal spaces, a new headquarters for jazz public radio station WBGO, and various outdoor gathering areas.
The architectural plans for the redevelopment focus heavily on mixed-use functionality and cultural inclusivity. The residential component, known as ArtSide, will include 350 rental units, 20% of which will be affordable housing. Alongside these, there will be cultural spaces, shops, restaurants, and an extension of Mulberry Street. The Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center, a 58,000-square-foot building designed by Weiss/Manfredi, will serve as a hub for students, community members, and artists.
The architectural approach also includes preserving and enhancing existing structures. Newark’s OCA Architects will oversee the renovation of 31 Mulberry Street, a building recently acquired by NJPAC. This building will house additional community, educational, and office spaces, extending the cultural reach of the center. In addition, the project will improve the eastern façade of NJPAC and other critical infrastructure like interiors and loading docks. These updates are designed to work together with the new development and contribute to the area’s attractivity.
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The redevelopment is a collaborative effort supported by a range of public and private partners, including the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), Prudential Financial, Liberty Mutual, and Citi Community Capital. The design aims to reflect this commitment to community engagement, with plans for pedestrian-friendly pathways, outdoor performance spaces, and connections to the Newark Light Rail system.
In 1988, long before NJPAC opened, SOM created the original master plan for the campus and today is designing the residential components of the project. “NJPAC’s commitment to downtown Newark is central to its mission. Our original master plan for the campus intended it to be a hub of activity in the heart of the city that would bring new life to the surrounding neighborhoods. Now more than 35 years later, NJPAC and its partners are driving that vision forward. – Chris Cooper, SOM partner
In other similar news, construction photographs reveal how MAD Architect’s FENIX Museum of Migration is taking shape in Rotterdam, as the metallic ‘Tornado’ is assembled atop the historic warehouse. Similarly, Zaha Hadid Architects have revealed the construction progress at the Central Bank of Iraq Skyscraper in Baghdad, a project 12 years in the making.
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