This is the project that inverted the conventional wisdom about the Newark office market. A textbook case of seeing value where others couldn’t.

744 was run down and around 30% occupied. What tenants were there were there were paying very low rents. Someone else might have put a little money into it and raised the rents a little. My client believed in downtown Newark as an office market, and decided to do a major redevelopment and repositioning

I ran the design and construction side of the redevelopment project: I built the design and construction team, oversaw the development of the redevelopment program, and managed the entire building upgrade program. The building got everything: air conditioning, upgraded electric service, a new loading dock, new windows, modernized elevators, high-tech communications backbone, building management system, and a National Register quality lobby and exterior restoration. The market responded enthusiastically: we leased 405,000 SF of new office space at substantially higher rents, and delivered great new buildouts.

The result? The project was a huge success, hitting close to 90% occupancy, sending valuations and returns through the roof.

A new image for the building. National Register quality facade restoration made the building the crown jewel of Newark office buildings once again, and helped attract a roster of national and local retail tenants.

Polishing the diamond. Back in the 1960s the original banking hall was hidden beneath a truly ugly renovation that was tired and dated when we got there. We stripped it all out and did a National Register quality retoration that brought the banking hall back to its original glory. It quickly became one of the most sought after venues in Newark for galas, celebration, and movie shoots.