Plans for the redevelopment of the former Pabst Blue Ribbon site in Newark’s West Ward are moving closer to reality after the city’s municipal council agreed to provide two 30-year tax incentives towards the project. Newark’s municipal council signed off on the legislation despite unilateral opposition from members of the public who submitted comments about the agreement during the council’s four-hour meeting.
The first part of the project, according to materials from the December 17 meeting, will span 11 parcels and 329 units, parking, and commercial space.
One phase of the project will redevelop 552 and 554-556 South Orange Avenue, and 412, 414, 41,6 and 418 Grove Street into two separate buildings with 185 senior affordable housing units.
The first building will consist of 108 senior affordable units. It will set aside 20 units for residents earning 50% area median income (AMI), while 88 units will be allotted to residents earning 60% AMI. Newark’s AMI, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was 135,300 in 2025. The second building will include 77 affordable housing units; 4 units will be reserved for residents earning 50% AMI, while the remaining units will be reserved for residents earning 60% AMI.
A second phase, which is expected to begin construction at the same time as the first phase, known as Crown Village, will span 144 affordable housing units and allot 12 apartments to tenants earning 50% AMI. The remaining 132 units will be allotted to residents earning 60% AMI. The project will also include approximately 8,100 square feet of commercial space, transforming the parcels at 572-588 South Orange Avenue, 80-82, 84, and 86-88 Whitney Street, and 391-419 Grove Street.
A report in NJ.com said that the project is being spearheaded by a limited-liability firm affiliated with Elizabeth-based Crown Bank and that the entire project will cost over $155 million. The bank’s CEO, Jacinto Rodrigues, is the principal of the LLC managing the project – South Orange Ave. 1 Urban Renewal, Inc. He did not return a request for comment from Jersey Digs.
Although the approval of the tax incentive marks a significant milestone towards the redevelopment of the former Pabst site, there is significant uncertainty ahead for the developer and for the fate of the project. Jersey Digs reported in 2020 that Crown Real Estate Holdings, a limited-liability firm based in Elizabeth and controlled by Rodrigues went before the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment to redevelop the site into 660 apartments and commercial space. The plans included a daycare center, two gyms, a common work area with conference rooms and other community amenities. Back then, the notice posted mentioned plans for two buildings, but the application before the zoning board mentioned five four-story buildings and 23,000 square feet of commercial space fronting South Orange Avenue.
That proposal came three years after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka had deliberated on the potential for the site to house a future medical facility, hotel, commercial space, alongside a residential complex for veterans. But he has not discussed that proposal since. The brewery was officially torn down in 2008, two years after it was partially damaged by a fire, but the site itself ceased operating in 1986. The brewery was known for its iconic 60-foot-tall bottle, which stood 125 feet above the city skyline for approximately 75 years.
The brewery began operations in 1934 under the ownership of Hoffman Pale Dry Ginger, but it was acquired in 1945 by Pabst. The company rebranded the bottle, which was a 55,000-gallon water tank, to promote Pabst and owned the brewery until its closure in 1986. Pabst, much like Ballantine, Krueger, Hensler, Feigenspan, Weidenmayer, and Anheuser-Busch, was one of the many brewers operating in Brick City in the 20th century but eventually left the city.
A report from 2004 in the Associated Press said that the owners of the property back then, New West, intended to develop a $33 million housing and shopping center complex. That project did not come to fruition and left the site vacant for more than 20 years.
