Newark’s Central Planning Board recently voted to deny an application for a new 27-story tower at the foot of Military Park in one of the fastest-growing parts of the city. The board voted 2-6 to deny the site plan application after postponing a final vote for the proposed building at 56 Park Place in December.
Professionals working on behalf of the applicant, 56 Park Place LLC, submitted testimony during the board’s meetings on December 15, February 23, March 16, and at the board’s most recent meeting on May 4. But this did not deter the board from rejecting the application, which would have allowed the developer to build 242 apartments, retail space on the second floor, and partially preserve the single-story commercial building on the site.
The board’s vice chairwoman, Kalenah Witcher, and commissioner Andre Speight were the only two members of the Central Planning Board to vote in favor of the application. However, the application itself has been contentious since it was made public last year, and attorneys representing the applicant and local organizations butted heads until the board finally voted.
Calvin Souder, an attorney working on behalf of Robert Treat Hotel Urban Renewal (located at 50 Park Place), Military Park Building LLC (60 Park Place), 58 Park Place Partnership, and Newark Public Radio (54 Park Place), submitted a letter asking the board to reject the plan for the project in December. Among other things, the letter said the proposal deviated significantly from the plan approved by the Newark Landmarks & Historic Preservation Committee in 2024, and that the project would create significant safety hazards.
Souder also cross-examined professionals who worked on the application about whether the proposal before the Central Planning Board, which included no parking, was the same plan approved by the landmarks committee, which included 55 parking spaces.
Souder and Jennifer Carrillo-Perez, the attorney representing the applicant, had several tense exchanges during the meeting on May 4. Both attorneys kept talking over each other throughout several portions of the meeting, and at one point, Carrillo-Perez asked Souder why he was being so nasty and unprofessional and requested a brief recess.
Chairwoman Witcher did not approve the request but warned both attorneys that she would postpone the hearing if the meeting proceeded.
The board ultimately voted to reject the application on a 2-5 decision. The project had an estimated price tag of $45 million, according to a TAPinto Newark report.
Despite the Central Planning Board’s denial, it is unlikely that the developer, 56 Park Place LLC, will relent. Jersey Digs reported in 2017 that the same developer had proposed a 26-story hotel at the same site. That plan called for a 353-room hotel and included 90 parking stalls, a conference center, two restaurants, and a gym. That project would have also preserved the façade of the former Tipsy’s Lounge space.
The planning board’s rejection comes a few weeks after board members voted to reject a proposal for a 150-unit mixed-use building near University Hospital at 66-80 South Orange Avenue. That proposal, as reported by Jersey Digs, was rejected twice in less than a year.
