Brooklyn-based developer Branford Studios is moving forward with a plan to replace a 105-year-old building at 52 Branford Place in downtown Newark with a new 441-unit apartment building. The developer recently secured site plan approval from the city’s planning board to build a 32-story mixed-use building.
The Newark Central Planning Board approved the 32-story project during its regular meeting on July 20. Meeting materials state that the application had been adjourned twice — on March 23 and June 1. The agenda also mentions that the site plan application required variances for insufficient electric vehicle parking spaces and insufficient loading spaces. However, a site plan sheet made public by the board also shows that the project requires variances for lighting, green infrastructure standards and stormwater management.
An engineering report prepared by T&M Associates and made public by the board states that the project will deliver 424 units, 235 parking spaces and 13,186 square feet of retail. The building’s residential portion will consist of 83 studios, 233 one-bedrooms, 75 two-bedrooms, 17 three-bedrooms and 16 penthouse units.
The plan includes a rooftop amenity terrace and 4,806 square feet of cellar-level retail.
The approval from the board comes over a year after Jersey Digs reported that the Newark Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission approved the demolition of the existing building. That approval states that the entire structure will be demolished, but that the developer will preserve the Branford Building Plaque.
The project has an estimated price tag of $150 million, according to the approval from the historic commission.
The area surrounding the site has been undergoing rapid development in recent years. The 267,000-square-foot Wynona Lipman Family Courthouse at 350 University Avenue opened in July 2025.
The tallest building in the city, the Halo development at 289 Washington Street, is located around the corner from the site on Branford Place. Jersey Digs reported in February that the lenders of the high-rise filed a $92 million lawsuit against a subsidiary of Acier Holdings.
A joint venture between Summit Assets and Winchester Equities recently completed the rehabilitation and office-to-residential conversion of the building at 303 Washington Street. That building consists of 92 apartments.
An archive from Google Maps shows that the building on Branford Place has been occupied by a number of restaurants and retailers. A report from May 2025 says the two-story building had been the site of a restaurant and a parking garage.
