

Newark, New Jersey: More apartments could be coming to Downtown Newark.



According to the Newark Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission, Cecil H. Sanders, Jr. of Sandstone Associates is planning changes to the Eclipse Building, located near the Gateway Center at 40 Clinton Street, between Beaver Street and Mulberry Street. The building, which dates to 1914, currently contains a US Post Office on the first floor and several offices on the upper floors, including those of The Chad School Foundation, attorneys, After-School All-Stars Newark, and other organizations.



The Eclipse Building was once the home of the Seton Hall University School of Law, according to the school, and was recently the home of the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation. Now, 22 apartments are planned for floors three through eight of the building.



Meanwhile, Broad Street could also see new residents. A building at 869-873 Broad Street, at the corner of William Street, could be converted into a residential building, with 37 units on the upper floors and rehabilitated retail space on the first floor. Currently, IZ Mattress and Furniture, Newark Wireless, Mike's Coffee Shop and Pizzeria, Liberty Tax, K&K General Merchandise, Hi-Class Textiles, Professional African Hair Braiding and Boutique, Divine Medical Services, law offices, Divine Training Institute, Allied Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center, and Gospel Apostolic Church operate in the building, which was originally an Oppenheim Collins department store.



The area surrounding the building, which dates to 1910, has seen significant changes in the past 10 years. A Courtyard by Marriott Hotel with a Joe's Crab Shack location opened across the street in 2012 where a parking deck used to stand, but diagonally across the street, a row of buildings containing several stores was demolished between 2007 and 2011 to make way for a large private parking lot. Behind the building, along Treat Place, the Teachers Village continues to rise where abandoned buildings used to stand.



The commission will hear both proposals at City Hall on Wednesday, May 4 at 6:15pm.



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