A former skeptic of the High Line walkway on Manhattan’s West Side is now one of the biggest advocates of a similar project across the Hudson River.

Jerry Gottesman, chairman of Edison Properties LLC, a real estate company and parking-lot and self-storage giant, was once a vocal skeptic of efforts to convert the abandoned freight rail line on the West Side into a landscaped promenade. The project attracts more than 7.5 million people a year.

Now, Mr. Gottesman is an advocate of a similar elevated promenade in Newark, N.J.

A raised pedestrian bridge is one of the signature features of a 22-acre public-private redevelopment project called Mulberry Commons, unveiled by the city of Newark and developers last month.

Although the bridge won’t be built on old railroad tracks, like the High Line is, it will connect neighborhoods, creating a pathway linking the city’s Ironbound neighborhood, a former industrial section known for its ethnic mix, restaurants and shops, with Newark Penn Station and a planned 3-acre park surrounded by commercial and residential development in front of the downtown Prudential Center.