One of the largest redevelopment plans in Downtown Newark looks like it won’t get built by the current ownership as an approved four-tower project has hit the market.
Just about three years ago, Brooklyn-based Sinai Equity Group purchased the former headquarters of IDT at 520 Broad Street for $49 million. The company quickly drew up plans for the existing high-rise, along with the surrounding vacant plots and a parking garage.
The four-tower project, designed by Fort Lee-based Architectura, was a bit controversial and criticized by some for creating “superblocks” in the neighborhood. However, Newark’s Central Planning Board ultimately approved the development in late 2023.
The entire project has now been listed for sale through Marcus & Millichap, being marketed as Skyline Towers by Chez Elder and Jason Petrick. The listing does not include an asking price for the nearly four-acre project, which comprises a total of 2,438 residential units.
Phase one of the project focuses on the existing IDT building, aiming to expand it upward to 20 floors. Five stories of retail space will be incorporated into the revamp of the current building, along with 254 residential apartments and a restaurant space on the top floor.
The three new towers, part of the endeavor, will be built on a triangular plot at 20 Atlantic Street, adjacent to the IDT building. An existing parking garage at the location will be demolished, but 1,126 new parking spaces will be created under the plan.
The listing for the project notes that the approvals already in place allow for over three million square feet of buildable space, and the property sits within one of the most transit-rich areas of the Garden State.
“This is not theoretical upside—it’s a ready-to-build, transit-connected, skyline-scale project in the most prime section of Newark’s Downtown core,” the listing says. “Situated directly across from Rutgers Business School and Harriet Tubman Square, and steps from the Atlantic Street Light Rail and Broad Street Station, the site offers unmatched visibility and accessibility.”
All the parcels in the plan are located within a Qualified Opportunity Zone, which offers long-term tax advantages. The project approvals required compliance with the city’s inclusionary zoning law, which mandates 20% affordable housing. As a result, the development would create 437 new affordable units.
