The $116-million project is a public-private partnership financed in part by $33 million in tax credits from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, as well as tax breaks and bond financing from the City of Newark.The project also is supported by NJPAC as part of the arts center’s mission to revive downtown.
The tower is one of a number of recent developments pointing to a revival in the state’s largest city, including the construction of buildings for corporate stalwarts Prudential Financial Inc. and Panasonic Corp., plans to expand the campuses of the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers Newark and a proposal to redevelop the long-shuttered Hahne’s department store, according to Rutgers University economist James W. Hughes. “There are a lot of good things going on,” he said.
“If [One Theater Square] rents up quickly, you may see more action,” Hughes said. But, he said, it may take a while for downtown Newark to create enough restaurants and other amenities to make it a “cool place for millennials and empty-nesters.”