NEWARK -- City and state leaders Monday joined in a ceremonial groundbreaking on a 22-story residential high-rise that was first proposed more the a decade ago, and is designed to expand on the success of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

One Theater Square, a $116-million project under construction across the street from the arts center, will have 245 apartments, and 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, along with a fitness center, meeting rooms and an outdoor deck with televisions and fire pits.

Former Gov. Tom Kean, speaking at the ceremony, said that when the arts center was first proposed for the city, there were plans to use it as a starting point for revitalizing the area.

"Everybody who came on board understood that this was a building block to bring back the greatest city in the state," Kean said.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who praised arts center president and CEO John Schrieber for getting construction started, said the high-rise building would bring back the downtown.

"I think that this project is going to turn this area completely around. It is the first step of many steps to (finally) make Newark the place that we want it to be," Baraka said.

First proposed in 2005 to have 28 stories, the project was revised to reach 44 stories, and then re-drawn again for 22 stories.

Schreiber said many obstacles were overcome to get all the financing and contracts for construction.

"We announced this (construction project), and about two years later there was the great recession-depression, and a lot of projects were put on hold," Schreiber said.

While other cities, such as Hoboken, enjoyed development, "it took a long time coming to Newark," Schreiber said.

Carl Dranoff, president of Dranoff Properties of Philadelphia, which is developing the 1.2-acre project, said it will be first high-rise building in Newark in 50 years. He said the building will be close to Military Park and the Prudential Center arena, and a short distance from the airport.

The building will have mostly one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as studios and three-bedroom units, ranging in size from 585 to 1,700 square feet. Rents are expected to start at $1,250 for a studio, $2,000 for one-bedroom, $3,150 for a two-bedroom and $4,500 for a three-bedroom.

There will also be 26 affordable housing units that officials said could be used by artists-in-residence working at the Performing Arts Center. There will be a 285-space parking garage.

Officials have said they hope to open One Theater Square by the summer of 2018.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.