By Jerry Gottesman

For more than a century, the Newark Warehouse Company building, located at the corner of Route 21 and Edison Place, was home to companies such as Iron Mountain and the Central Paper Company. Built in 1907, the building was initially used by the Central Railroad of New Jersey to accommodate its local freight business as a train terminal facility. More recently, the six-story structure has cut an imposing and often telling picture of its home city's fortunes. As the city's economy faltered, the building was left vacant. Even as other development began to rise around it, its blighted walls remained an enduring symbol of the challenges still ahead.

However, everything changed in May when nearly 200 people gathered on the second floor of the long-dormant warehouse. With sledgehammers in hand, Mayor Ras Baraka joined Edison Properties and other local stakeholders to officially kick off the redevelopment what is now known as Ironside Newark - a state-of-the-art office and retail building that will front on the newly developed Mulberry Commons Park.

Such events are an increasingly common sight in the state's largest city - where more than $2 billion in real estate investment is leading to a steady stream of groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings and grand openings. In our estimation, however, Ironside Newark represents the biggest bet on Brick City's comeback to date - and there are plenty of reasons we believe now is the time.

The $80-million project is the city's first speculative office project in decades. Put simply, Newark's office market is now desirable enough that developers can be confident that once a project is in place, companies will come calling.

Between five floors of expansive, loft-style office space and 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, Ironside Newark is expected to bring in excess of 1,000 new jobs to the market. For decades, courting and keeping businesses in Newark was an uphill battle due to the city's perceived shortcomings. Today, we count ourselves amongst a growing group making huge investments based on a firm belief in Newark's future.

In today's market, attracting young and creative professionals requires much more than an office ping-pong table and espresso machine. Modern workers and their employers require a complex network of amenities, access to public transportation and a thriving cultural scene - all of which Newark possesses in droves.

To begin, the city sits at the center of the largest public transit hub in the Northeast. A huge number of millennials have abandoned their cars and the city provides easy access to trains, buses, a light rail and a nearby international airport that can take them around the world without ever getting behind a wheel.

Downtown, Newark's entertainment, dining and nightlife scene is burgeoning. While corporations like Starbucks and Whole Foods are considered quintessential harbingers of well-heeled urban neighborhoods, the city has also attracted a craft beer/arcade bar and restaurants backed by TV celebrity chefs. Once completed, Mulberry Commons will add much-needed green space, providing a crucial link to attractions such as the Prudential Center, Newark Penn Station and the historic, culinary-rich Ironbound section. Newark is well on its way to becoming a 24-hour destination, boosting its appeal for companies courting millennials and other workers alike.

As a recent article on this website revealed, Newark's image problems over the years can largely be traced to a single factor: crime. Deservedly or not, the city has developed a reputation in recent decades as a place to avoid. What has yet to take hold in the public consciousness, however, is that the rate of violence in the city has been falling dramatically. In 2016, it recorded its largest drop in overall crime in more than half a century - including stark declines in nearly every category of incidents. No one will deny there is progress still to be made, but the impact of safer streets on Newark's reputation - and in turn, its economic fortunes - cannot be understated.

From the newly constructed Prudential and Panasonic towers, to the rising One Theater Square, the fruits of Newark's growth are already plain to see. The Central Ward alone is expected to add 6,421 apartments between 2017 and 2020, at a cost of roughly $2.4 billion, according to the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation. Audiobook giant Audible is expanding its considerable presence downtown, and incentivizing its employees to move into recently constructed apartments on Broad Street. Meanwhile, young entrepreneurs are arriving in droves thanks to newly launched tech incubators. The City was recently ranked 13th for tech talent among the top 50 U.S. markets and those most familiar with Newark expect that ranking to continue to improve.

Perhaps most importantly, our confidence in Newark's future is cemented by the presence of a talented leader. Mayor Ras J. Baraka has been instrumental in developing Ironside Newark and Mulberry Commons, bringing together a diverse group of parties to form a cohesive vision for the site. Under the mayor's watch, that same vision is unfolding from downtown to his native South Ward. While Newark is now on one of the seemingly endless lists of rising metropolises, he and other officials have been tireless in working to ensure its renaissance unfolds far more equitably than it has in other cities.

Across the country, a wave of urbanization is reversing the course of history, sending young people and others back to America's core metropolises to seek higher wages and a more walkable, cosmopolitan lifestyle. The resulting shifts are restoring cities across America, and Newark is uniquely positioned to benefit from the rising tide.

In 1956, Edison Properties collected its first dollar at a single parking lot on Edison Place - the very same street where Ironside Newark is now being developed. In the years since, we've remained dedicated to Newark as the city's prospects have wavered. We have always regarded it as a great American metropolis, and we're ready to put our money where our heart is.

Jerry Gottesman is the Chairman of Edison Properties, a Newark-based real estate holding and development company. Founded in 1956, Edison Properties owns over 3 million square feet of property in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as several million square feet in Newark, Baltimore and other major cities.

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