Jones Lang LaSalle
NBA Star Proposes Condo/Retail Project
By Eric Peterson
NEWARK-Miami Heat basketball star Shaquille O’Neal wants to develop a condo/retail project in his home town. Called One River View at Rector, the project would rise on a site currently occupied by Science High School, a so-called magnet school operated by the local board of education.
According to a published report, 36-54 Rector Place LLC, a company owned by O’Neal, has an offer on the table to buy the building and its site for $2.75 million and demolish the building to make way for the 24-story luxury condo/retail project. The city council has scheduled a meeting for today during which the body is expected to vote on whether to accept the offer. City officials could not be reached for comment.
The building itself is a remnant of the old Ballantine & Sons brewery. Built in 1860, the 146-year-old asset was formerly known as Malt House Number 3. Years after the brewery closed, the building was converted into a school, housing Science High School for the past 23 years. The latter is slated to move into a brand new building within the Newark Science Park in time for the 2006-2007 school year.
School officials had wanted to open up a new history-focused magnet school in the former malt house. But the board of education has been renting it from the city for just $1 per year, and the pending sale is apparently about ratables. According to a statement released by city administrator Richard Monteilh, the site isn’t generating any tax revenues and the condo project "is in line with our efforts to return vacant land and abandoned properties to the tax rolls."
Between its uses as a malt house and as Science High School, the building was utilized for a number of years as a college building, initially by a predecessor institution to Newark-Rutgers and later by Essex County College. It’s listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, so any sale would require state approval.
Copyright © 2006 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
NBA Star Proposes Condo/Retail Project
By Eric Peterson
NEWARK-Miami Heat basketball star Shaquille O’Neal wants to develop a condo/retail project in his home town. Called One River View at Rector, the project would rise on a site currently occupied by Science High School, a so-called magnet school operated by the local board of education.
According to a published report, 36-54 Rector Place LLC, a company owned by O’Neal, has an offer on the table to buy the building and its site for $2.75 million and demolish the building to make way for the 24-story luxury condo/retail project. The city council has scheduled a meeting for today during which the body is expected to vote on whether to accept the offer. City officials could not be reached for comment.
The building itself is a remnant of the old Ballantine & Sons brewery. Built in 1860, the 146-year-old asset was formerly known as Malt House Number 3. Years after the brewery closed, the building was converted into a school, housing Science High School for the past 23 years. The latter is slated to move into a brand new building within the Newark Science Park in time for the 2006-2007 school year.
School officials had wanted to open up a new history-focused magnet school in the former malt house. But the board of education has been renting it from the city for just $1 per year, and the pending sale is apparently about ratables. According to a statement released by city administrator Richard Monteilh, the site isn’t generating any tax revenues and the condo project "is in line with our efforts to return vacant land and abandoned properties to the tax rolls."
Between its uses as a malt house and as Science High School, the building was utilized for a number of years as a college building, initially by a predecessor institution to Newark-Rutgers and later by Essex County College. It’s listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, so any sale would require state approval.
Copyright © 2006 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
posted by Jones Lang LaSalle NJ News Blog at 12:42 PM
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