Redevelopment of Newark’s Bears Stadium site receives team of architects
By David Malone, Associate Editor
Since bidding adieu to the minor league Newark Bears baseball team in 2013, Bears Stadium has been left vacant. The 6,200-seat stadium sits on eight acres adjacent to the waterfront and a short walk away from NJ Transit’s Broad Street station, which is accessible to Midtown Manhattan in 18 minutes.
In 2016, Lotus Equity Group purchased the stadium for $23 million with plans to redevelop the site into a 24/7 live-work-play community. The project will create up to 2,000 residential units, 400,000 sf of office space, large- and small-scale retail, and cultural and public open space in the emerging Broad Street Station section of downtown Newark.
Recently, Lotus Equity Group announced a team of four architecture firms that will be working on the project. The team includes Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, Michael Green Architecture, TEN Arquitectos, and Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners.
“When designing this site, it was important to us that our approach be focused on community engagement, inclusion, and transparency,” says Ben Korman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Lotus Equity Group, in a release. “We chose a team of architects that will not only create beautiful buildings, but also shares our commitment to urban planning and design that will thoughtfully support the urban renewal of Newark’s Central Ward.”
The project’s first phase of development is currently underway.