A Downtown Newark building that is under new ownership could undergo an adaptive reuse and expansion project.
Property sales records show that 73 Academy Street in the Central Ward was sold by a Woodcliff Lake-based firm for $725,000 in December 2019. The new owner, SSK Academy, LLC, is listed in an application that was received back in March by the Newark Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission.
The application describes an estimated $1 million project that involves rehabilitating the existing building, which is three stories tall on the Academy Street side and one story tall on the Raymond Boulevard side, and constructing an addition in order to create a five-story development.
If completed, the project would include eight residential units and a 1,288-square-foot store, according to site plans from Mukti Architecture that were released by the City of Newark. There would be six two-bedroom units and two one-bedroom units. One unit on the fourth floor would include a roof terrace while there would also be a rooftop deck and green roof area atop the structure.
Filings published by the National Park Service list that the existing three-story portion of the building dates back to 1880. The one-story Raymond Boulevard side of the property is situated immediately adjacent to the stairs leading down to the inbound platform of the Newark Light Rail’s Washington Street Station.
SSK Academy, LLC is registered out of the same address in Carlstadt as Luxe Properties. The application lists “Luxe Properties LLC by Sargon Koumi” as the project contractor and notes that this development will require approval from the Newark Central Planning Board.
