Hopefully they do it like in Amsterdam, where you can consume outside products but have to get something from the establishment.

Too bad they don't seem to be doing anything to the upper floors except exterior cosmetic work.

You're awesome for posting this! SimCity 4 was my favorite!

Absolutely!

It certainly can be an expense; depends on the car. I'm just saying going carless isn't always an ideal option just because you live in a city.

Ha! Good quote... and not inaccurate.

Wow, great discussion. And so many valid points. Thanks Kalebxtentacion for the post. One thing you mentioned that I think is understated is that there is a lot of internal migration of Newarkers into these buildings so it's not all "outsiders" as many people believe. And there are a lot of people of color living in them as well (People have different definitions of POC; Indians and other Asians are not white; are we counting them or do we just mean black and brown people?) But there are also a lot of new people moving in, many not of color, and that's fine. It's a city and cities tend to be transient and should be a melting pot of cultures and ideas.

I've grown to like the design although I agree it should be more contextual. But design is subjective and not everyone is going to be happy. From an esthetic and symbolic standpoint, skyscrapers are great for the city. They show modernity and growth. Personally, I care more about streetscape so I feel infill developments have a greater impact (which I've expressed before on this thread.) Change you can see from the ground and not the sky is what impacts those who live and interact in the city day to day. In terms of jobs, residential bldgs don't employ that many people, so the true job gains are from construction which are temporary. I'm not sure how many of those are going to Newarkers. Some data would help here.

The reason I'm not going out of my way to support this project is because, the developer has to show some good faith of working with the community, and I don't get that sense from them at this point. It's an annoying process but current residents are stakeholders and should have their concerns acknowledged; especially if they own in the area.

Personally, as I stated before, these residential projects cause displacement even if they're being built on a vacant lot. It effects the overall rental price for the neighborhood and those have escalated sharply downtown in the past few years without any measure of mitigating it. As someone who's lived downtown for years and see myself being priced out, its hard for me to advocate for the mechanism driving my own displacement. Selfish, I know. If it were being mitigated, I'd be on board as I'm generally, pro development. At the end of the day, these developers will still get it built and make tons of money that none of us will see...

I'm all in for a meetup. Need help organizing?

It's doable but not always convenient or cost effective. I live downtown and work by a train station. I occasionally take the train into work but it's so much cheaper and quicker to drive. ($90 weekly on NJ Transit vs $45 gas with gas left over for personal driving on weekends. And 50 min on the train vs 35 driving.) With that being said, I have friends who live downtown and don't have cars but they all work from home and spend a small fortune on Ubers.

Is the developer changing the design at all or making any compromises?

Please let us know how it goes!!

I'd be so down to join. Will this be our first official meetup... including the OG's from WiredNY?

But Tuesday at noon... damn, that's tough. Tuesday 1/31 or 2/7? Can we do a zoom call?

Yeah those skinny trees look silly. But now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen mature trees get planted. I'm sure it's done but I imagine there are good reasons why it's not more common. Probably more expensive (bigger equipment needed to transport, larger openings in the ground/sidewalk, etc.) and perhaps there are greater risks from a arboricultural standpoint of the tree surviving.

It's the infill projects for me! They are lower visibility but also important. Drove down Market Street in the Ironbound this Saturday and saw a few projects recently completed or nearing completion that I didn't even know were being built. Smaller bldgs (10 to maybe 20 units) but about a half dozen of them.

Drive around certain parts of the city, and you'll see a good number of these

Are we upset about the walkway being closed or the businesses? I agree, it would be great for the walkway to stay open late. I'm not sure how fair it is to force the businesses to stay open if they don't have the customers to support the cost of staying open late or on weekends. Downtown is still more or less dead evenings and weekends except for when there is an event. American Whisky and Redds outside of events rarely have people there and they both stay open late and on weekends. I don't see how a place selling cookies and without a liquor license is going to buck that trend. If the downtown restaurants aren't a destination yet, I'm not sure how the Gateway restaurants will be just because the walkway is open later. There just isn't enough critical mass, even with all the new development.

Newark is strict about dispensary locations. For example, you can open one up on the north side of Market street but not on the south side.

Halo won't be taller than 1180? 1180 is 448 ft. The tallest Halo tower (future development) is 573 ft and 49 stories. The shortest (under construction) is supposed to be 38 stories so maybe 100 ft shorter? That should still overtake 1180 and even 744 broad (465 ft)... hopefully.

And I'm conflicted about Arc. Architecturally, I like the design (same architect as Halo and 50 Sussex) but agree it's not contextual and seems odd in that corner. Especially when you look at the renderings from street level. It would look great on Mulberry and Raymond next to the Legal Center/Seton Hall Law. And I've already done my rant about downtown affordability and displacement so I'll skip it this time...

I live on Edison Place which they close off routinely for events. Technically, there's no parking on the street as the signage clearly indicates but people do it all the time . They only seem to tow if the road is being closed off. The police are cool enough to turn on their siren and lights for a good 15 minutes before tow trucks arrive... see people scrambling out of the bars and stuff to move their cars.

Wow... looks great!

Medallion Steakhouse (formerly Maize at the Robert Treat Hotel) . Rebranded, new menu, great reviews and I always liked the space even when it was Maize. Especially the sublevel dining/lounge area near the wine cellar. Not sure if it's still there.

OMG yeah. I honestly don't understand why their buildings look as ugly as they do.

Thanks Kalebxtentacion. And agreed about less pics for this one. 50 Sussex seems to be moving along...

They all look the same. Glad there's development there, but nothing exciting architecture wise... especially for an area tooted as an Arts district and already home to many beautiful buildings. The exception is 1010 Broad Street which has a great design IMO.

I lived in the Colonnade about 10 years ago (sigh... i'm getting old) and loved it. I faced the city and was above the tree line so I had a GREAT view of NYC and downtown Newark. They have floor to ceiling windows which, as Rainbowrobb mentioned, you can't open.

Not sure what it's like now but there was a convenience shop in the basement along with a laundry room and fitness center (extra fee). Parking was assigned and gated. Didn't really have any maintenance issues but the few I did were quickly taken care of. Thick walls and floors so didn't have any neighbor complaints/issues. Hallways looked dated even after their renovations but i had a renovated unit at the time and was happy with it.

Pricing was fair to me. Some riff raffs in the building but with 600+ units, that's bound to happen. I never felt unsafe.

Best parts: 1) Branch Brook Park is right across the street! I may have spent more time there than in my apartment. 2) At the time, I worked in the city next to Port Authority and took the 108 bus which originates at the Colonnade so I always had a seat going to work! C) On weekends, I took the train to grad school in the city and the walk to Broad St Station isn't horrible.

My vote would be to do it on Treat Place between Branford and William St! Throw up some string lights and/or maybe some uplighting on those awesome murals!

Yeah I remember they wanted to move them to a designated area. Admittedly, I thought it was a good idea when proposed. I envisioned it like an outdoor market place full of different vendors. And maybe have it open late evening like the night markets in many cities in Asia. But I'm cool with them where they are too. I get my oils and incense from street vendors. And also my "Newark" hats!