The New Jersey Performing Arts Center breaks ground on $336 million redevelopment of its 12-acre campus

In Newark, N.J., the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) has broken grown on the three-year, $336 million redevelopment of its 12-acre campus.

The project will provide downtown Newark 350 mixed-income residential units, along with shops, restaurants, outdoor gathering spaces, and an education and community center with professional rehearsal spaces.

Scheduled for completion in fall 2027, the reimagined campus will include ArtSide, a mixed-use, mixed-income residential complex. Developed by NJPAC, LMXD, and MCI Collective, and planned and designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill, ArtSide will offer 350 rental units, 20% of them affordable housing. ArtSide also will provide retail and cultural spaces, including a new home for public radio station WBGO. The project will extend Mulberry Street on what is currently an NJPAC parking lot.

Designed by Weiss/Manfredi, the 58,000-sf Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center will serve as a hub for students, artists, and community partners and will be built on another NJPAC parking lot.

NJPAC’s redesigned front yard, Chambers Plaza, and a new space, Essex County Green, will form an outdoor urban park. Future Green designed the new Chambers Plaza.

OCA Architects will design renovations of 31 Mulberry Street, a building that NJPAC recently acquired. The building will house more space for community gatherings, as well as educational and office spaces for NJPAC.

In addition, some of NJPAC’s interiors, along with its eastern façade and loading docks, will be redesigned.

“This initiative will not only provide more housing and commercial spaces, but also create vibrant cultural and educational opportunities that will enrich the lives of Newark residents for generations to come,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said in a statement.

The project’s partners include the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), which granted the project $200 million in tax credits under the Transformative Aspire Program.

Since opening in 1997, NJPAC has welcomed more than 12 million visitors. It’s among the largest performing arts centers in the country.