It’s not unusual for a client to give an architect some initial cues on how to design a building. But when it came to 14-16 Jefferson Street in Newark, developer Gabriel Lopez gave Hoboken-based firm MVMK quite the assignment.
“He gave us a couple pictures of buildings he liked,” said Ciaran Kelly, a partner at the firm. “It turns out that they were old industrial buildings in Manhattan that had been converted into lofts.”
What stands out about the building initially is the use of historic arches and the contrast between brick and an almost Art Deco bronze. But what makes the building so pleasing to the eye is the proportions — this is truly a lost art. Contemporary architects too often prioritize the interiors of buildings, leaving the placement of windows and other ornamentation — if any — as an afterthought.
“It has this nice order to it; it has balance, and it seems to make sense,” said Kelly about using historic buildings as inspiration. “The trick is to make it look good without making it kitsch or pastiche.”
Lopez, principal at J&L Companies, said that the buildings at 72 Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District and 408 Greenwich Street in Tribeca were the source of his inspiration. The idea was more so a love letter to the Ironbound, than to “replicate” the New York buildings, he said.
MVMK, based in Hoboken, is continuing its foray into Newark. Recently, the firm designed a 234-unit project at 238 Central Avenue for Tona Development, and more are in the works. The new project on Jefferson Street is a great showcase for the firm.
The neighborhood to the immediate east of Penn Station is one of the most talked-about places in Newark lately because of recent plans approved by the city for the former Iberia restaurant site, which include two 30-story towers.
The vicinity may not look like much today — much of it is asphalt parking lots — but that’s all about to change if things go according to plan, and the building on Jefferson Street will occupy a prominent place in its future.
“I was born in the Ironbound and the company is more than 40 years old, so we predate a lot of the excitement that is happening today,” Lopez said.
Add to this the ever-expanding riverfront park, which is located a half block from this address, and the proposed Mulberry Commons pedestrian bridge that will connect the Ironbound to downtown.
“These connections make it a lot more attractive place to live,” Kelly said. “We’re getting the benefit of these other things and hopefully, one building at a time, the neighborhood becomes better.”
In a city that has seen large-scale decimation of its historic buildings to urban renewal, midcentury disinvestment, and the aftermath of riots, the East Ward has somehow managed to keep much of its architecture intact, despite being only one of two wards without a designated historic district.
“It ties in well with the Ironbound because there are a variety of different styles,” Kelly said. “It’s kind of a patchwork quilt.”
Today, the Ironbound is increasingly a blend of modern towers and converted historic buildings, many of which Lopez’s company is behind, including 55 Union, designed by Minno & Wasko, and 115 Bruen Street, as well as adaptive-reuse projects at 55 Liberty Street and the Textile Lofts at 120 Green Street.
J&L Companies was founded in the 1970s by Lopez’s immigrant parents and has grown into one of the Ironbound’s largest landholders.
“Like many other residents here, it was the first place our family set foot in this country in pursuit of the American Dream,” Lopez said.
