NJPAC Seeks Private Development Partner for 'Two Center Street'

    NEWARK, N.J., March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The New Jersey Performing Arts
 Center announced its first major expansion since its opening in 1997:  the
 issuance of an RFEI (Request for Expressions of Interest) seeking a private
 development partner for Two Center Street, a 1.2 acre site adjacent to the
 Arts Center in downtown Newark.  Following more than two years of
 pre-development activity with a team of nationally-recognized advisors in
 urban real estate, planning, design and finance, NJPAC is poised to take the
 next series of steps to advance its original Master Plan to enhance the Arts
 Center's physical surroundings and accelerate the revitalization of Newark's
 downtown.
     "This is an historic moment for NJPAC and Newark," said Lawrence P.
 Goldman, NJPAC's President and CEO.  "Our mission, since the earliest days of
 planning, has been for the Arts Center to help create a vibrant,
 round-the-clock environment in the Newark Arts District.  The only missing
 ingredient is market-rate residential and higher-end retail opportunities
 right in the heart of the downtown -- only steps away from the Arts Center
 itself.   After eight years of successfully operating an
 internationally-acclaimed cultural facility, we are ready to build upon
 NJPAC's achievements and infuse new life, living and commerce into this great
 American city."
     Two Center Street is envisioned to include a residential community of at
 least 250 units (in low, mid and high-rise settings -- 20% of which will be
 set aside for artists), 30,000 square-feet of street-level retail and cultural
 uses (including restaurants, cafes, shops, galleries and related uses) and
 structured parking for over 700 cars to serve the shared needs of the
 residential community as well as those of NJPAC's audiences and daytime
 commercial demand.  Support for a portion of pre-development activities has
 been provided by Bank of America and The MCJ Foundation.
     Through the RFEI, NJPAC is soliciting the submission of qualifications and
 expressions of interest from high-quality potential development partners with
 proven experience in first-class, high-rise and complex developments in major
 urban settings.  Developers must have a demonstrable commitment to excellence
 in planning and design, an established record of financial stability and
 success, a record of integrity and trustworthiness and a basic sensibility in
 harmony with NJPAC's multi-layered mission.
 
 

SOURCE  New Jersey Performing Arts Center