NJ Cities in a State of Redevelopment: Paterson, Newark, Atlantic City
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Redevelopment in the Triplicate
Atlantic City, Newark, Paterson - the triplets of redevelopment in New Jersey right now, have seen a consistent and booming surge in revitalization. What’s stirring it? Many look to New Jersey’s Growth Zone tax abatement program, allowing tax savings to developers while municipalities advance economic growth. Criteria for determining an area in need of redevelopment is defined by New Jersey’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. It is any area where buildings are substandard, unsafe, or abandoned due to disrepair. It is also defined as publicly owned or vacant land for a period of 10 years not likely to be developed privately. It’s a mouthful, purposely, yet the big three of the Garden State have been persistent in revitalization efforts. In Paterson, Hinchliffe Stadium is an obvious example. The redevelopment along Atlantic City’s Boardwalk is another example. Herein lies another in Newark, along Route 21, known as the riverfront. It’s happening- and many are welcoming the many redevelopment projects.
Atlantic City
The Atlantic City Master Plan is a vision for breathing life into the popular resort city. The idea is to create a clean, safe, and green seaside destination. Both Atlantic CIty and Asbury Park received $20M from state funds for broadwalk upkeep. Not just construction to ensure the safety of the physical broadwalk is underway, but stretches of the boardwalk in Atlantic City that include three popular casinos will get a facelift, inevitably increasing the appeal of those major casinos. Inoperable since 2006, Bader Field in the casino capital of the east coast has planned redevelopment to include nearly 200 condos, apartments and townhouses, retail stores, and a racetrack. It will take six to nine years to complete this project on the 143 acre former airport site. Part entertainment, part local vendor market, part gourmet marketplace, a container park on Tennessee Avenue in A.C. was awarded a $2.2M grant in 2024 to break ground. Developers use a mix of 28 renovated shipping containers and traditional brick and mortar buildings to produce a large complex of vendor shopping, education and art spaces, and entertainment space.
Newark
Urban high-rise mixed use development has been king in Brick City. In fact, as part of a plan to develop the properties surrounding the major entertainment hub, NJPAC, just across the street, a 22 story mixed use glass structure was completed in recent years. It includes studio, one, two, and three bedroom apartments, a fitness center, a lap pool, and an outdoor deck. The ground level features 15,000 square feet of retail space. In 2023, a project to turn the site of the former New Jersey Bears and Eagles baseball stadium in downtown Newark into 11 towers with 4,200 apartments cleared its final hurdle. This massive project, called CitiSquare Newark, will include commercial space too - 100,000 square feet of it. The riverfront along Route 21 in the city is seriously eroded due to years of industrial use and neglect. Therefore, the Army Corp of Engineers and the State have teamed up to construct the Minish Park Project to reduce riverbank erosion and lay the foundation for waterfront park development. The city is moving forward on a waterfront walkway on the site.
Paterson
Redevelopment has surged in the Silk City over the years, from properties in the city’s neglected 4th Ward constructed into multi-unit mixed used complexes, to the completion of the historic Hinchliffe Stadium restoration in 2023. But there is more. The Great Falls National Park is being expanded with a riverwalk at the south end of the majestic waterfalls. The 2.5 acre expansion will allow visitors to stroll along the Passaic River amidst the site of old dye and silk factories that made Paterson great during the industrial revolution. This project is scheduled for completion in Fall 2024. In February 2024, the Islamic Center of Passaic County secured approval from the Paterson Planning Board for a proposed 17, 285 square feet recreational community center in South Paterson. It will feature a multi-use building, swimming pool, and exclusive sports facilities.
Sources
What is a redevelopment zone NJ? Redevelopment is reinvestment in neighborhoods and commercial areas to replace or repair previously developed buildings or plots of land that are in substandard condition or are no longer useful in their current state.
What are the criteria for area in need of redevelopment in NJ? An area may be determined to be in need of redevelopment if any of the following conditions are found: a. buildings are substandard, unsafe, unsanitary, dilapidated, or obsolescent, or are lacking in light, air, or space.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/paterson-press/2023/04/24/paterson-nj-property-tax-ba
se-falling-as-development-surges/70134607007/
Atlantic city
https://njcrda.com/redevelopment-plans/
Master plan for atlantic city
https://www.jerde.com/projects/8058/atlantic-city-tourism-master-plan
