The site that was once home to the last milk distributor to operate out of the City of Newark is set to welcome a new mixed-use apartment complex following recent site plan approvals from the city’s Central Planning Board. During the board’s meeting on July 21, members voted unanimously to approve a proposal for an eight-story building at 348-370 Morris Avenue in Brick City’s Central Ward.
The proposal calls for 426 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with outdoor patios on a 1.3-acre site, formerly home to Clinton Milk & Co. It’s located next to the commercial district along Springfield Avenue and three blocks from Rutgers Medical School.
Approximately 1,100 square feet of retail will front Morris Avenue, while 85 units will be set aside for affordable housing. The entire project will comprise 418,065 square feet, including 42,631 square feet of amenity space, according to application documents made public by the planning board.
The site has been underutilized for many years, especially after a fire in 2021 destroyed a portion of the properties in the area once owned by Clinton Milk Co. The site plan approved on Monday reflects a significant increase in housing units from the proposal submitted by the previous owners two years ago.
As reported by Jersey Digs, Suffern, New York-based Morris Avenue Development Group, the previous owner of the assemblage, intended to erect a six-story building with 176 units. That project went before the city’s zoning board and was approved, but the site was sold to a limited-liability firm based out of Trumbull, Connecticut, in October 2024, according to the Essex County Register.
While 348-370 Morris Avenue was once home to Clinton Milk & Co., the company’s footprint in the neighborhood was even more expansive. Records from the county register also show that Clinton Milk Co. owned several parcels directly across from the development at 348-370 Morris Avenue, but that assemblage is owned by an LLC based out of 10 Hill Street in Newark.
An archived report from NJBIZ from 1994 states that Clinton Milk operated out of Newark’s Central Ward since its founding by the Marx family in 1921. It provided dairy and other products to hospitals, colleges, and other institutions in the area. Clinton Milk was earning around $20 million in annual revenue at the time, but company management conceded that milk sales had declined over the years and that the Belmont neighborhood underwent significant change after the Newark Riots in the 1960s.
Meanwhile, another archive from Newark Changing shows that five townhouses used to stand at 361-353 Morris Avenue, which were later torn down.
Clinton Milk’s packaging bottles are still actively sold on eBay and Etsy, as well as on social media.
Jersey Digs was unable to contact 348 Morris Avenue Real Estate, the owner of the parcels at 348-370 Morris Avenue.
