Properties in Newark’s South and West Wards could be sold by the city’s municipal government in order to make way for new development projects.
The Newark Municipal Council unanimously voted on June 10 to adopt a resolution allowing for the private sale of two tracts for a total of $159,200 to Headway, LLC. The parcels that are part of this deal are 398-406 Chancellor Avenue in the South Ward and 556-558 Sanford Avenue in the West Ward.
The street that the latter property is on is referred to on street signs and is commonly known as “Sanford Avenue,” but is listed as “Sandford Avenue” in the resolution and in the municipal tax filing system.
The resolution states that “the redeveloper has proposed to the City’s Department of Economic and Housing Development to develop the properties for market rate rental housing,” noting that a 50-unit “multi-function residential complex” and a six-unit “permanent housing building” are planned.
Although the resolution did not specify which building would be constructed at which location, the South Ward property is nearly twice the size of the West Ward site and is not situated on a corridor lined with single-family houses. Located between I-78 and Weequahic High School, the South Ward tract has long sat vacant, but once contained a Shell station. The premises have served as a makeshift parking lot for nearby businesses over the years. Meanwhile, the West Ward property consists of a vacant lot that sits between houses.
Few details are known about Headway, LLC, but the resolution shows that the company is registered out of a house in the Somerset County community of North Plainfield. The home in question is owned by Loucilia and Nivah Garcis, according to tax records.
The resolution also states in part that “based upon the City’s review of the proposal and other such information, the City has determined that the redeveloper possesses the proper qualifications and requisite financial resources and capacity to acquire the properties and to develop it.”
This news comes less than a month after the Newark Municipal Council approved the sale of 158-164 Chancellor Avenue in order to allow for the construction of a 75-unit development.
