A proposal from Newark developer Pedro Gomes to develop a six-story apartment building on an empty parcel two blocks from the New Jersey Institute of Technology campus recently secured approvals from the city’s Central Planning Board. Officials voted to approve the proposal, with variances, for the lot at 10 Lock Street, which is currently owned by 159 Walnut CPG Limited Liability Company, during the board’s May 18 meeting.
A staff report from the planning board says that the applicant intends to deliver 27 residential units on the 6,176-square-foot lot, located near the intersection of Sussex Avenue and Lock Street, behind The Patio on Sussex.
The proposal calls for a ground floor with a lobby entrance along Lock Street, dedicated mail space, a package room, building infrastructure, a storage closet, amenity space with a storage closet and kitchenette, and a trash room with a trash compactor. Two two-bedroom apartments, two stairwells, and an elevator will also occupy the ground floor.
The project does not include parking on-site. The second through sixth floors will consist of two one-bedroom units, three two-bedroom apartments, two stairwells, an electrical closet, and a trash chute. The proposed building will include 10 one-bedroom units ranging from 651 to 760 square feet and 17 two-bedroom units ranging from 717 to 1,034 square feet. The area’s zoning code also calls for 20% of its apartments — six units — to be set aside for affordable housing.
The applicant was approved for three variances: insufficient elevator setback, ground-level transparency, and ground-floor height.
A clerk from the Central Planning Board confirmed with Jersey Digs that no changes were made to the application during its public hearing on May 18.
Records from the Essex County Tax Board show that the lot was last sold in March 2021 for $425,000. The property had an assessed value of $40,000 in 2025, but its current assessed value is $138,300.
While approval from the city’s planning board has moved the project forward, the proposal has the potential to transform an underutilized lot in a rapidly changing part of the city.
Jersey Digs reported in April that just one block south of the project site, the 15-story Hoyt Tower apartment complex at 50 Sussex Street opened in 2024. Gomes also secured approvals from the city’s zoning board in March for a high-rise apartment building at 253 Orange Street, just south of I-280. That site is just north of Gomes’ Arbol project, which opened in 2021.
Jersey Digs also reported in April 2025 that St. Michael’s Hospital, located just four blocks from 10 Lock Street, is slated for a conversion to residential space. The 155-year-old hospital building will include commercial space on the ground floor, with the upper stories converted to 42 residential units.
The New Jersey Institute of Technology, which owns a 48-acre campus just a few blocks from 10 Lock Street, is also working to expand its capacity. The technical school reported in early 2025 that it is working to rehab its second-oldest residential hall on Summit Street. That project, which is expected to wrap up in 2027, will nearly double the total number of beds and units to 453 and 154, respectively.
