Can Preservation and Economic Development Coexist?

The National Newark Building. Image Credit: Darren Tobia

It was a strange time in Newark when Anthony Smith was named the chair of the city’s Landmarks & Historic Preservation Commission. The position had been open for six months and there was a chill in the air after the previous commissioner Richard Partyka had been forced to resign – with his second in command Susan Holguin-Veras resigning in solidarity – over their unwillingness to issue a letter of support for a pedestrian bridge project.

Preservation only works when commissions are free to have opinions on certain proposals. Otherwise what is the purpose of a commission at all?

Some attributed the LHPC's six-month break in hearing applications to an inability to find someone willing to step into the hot seat. The chairmanship of Smith, who didn’t respond to emails to speak about this matter, is good news because it enabled the LHPC to finally get back to its work approving – or disapproving – projects. Smith is also experienced, having sat on the commission. 

There has been no shortage of work for the commission because Newark’s real estate has practically been on fire the last few years with four 40-plus story skyscrapers approved and one under construction.

The problem Newark is having is that its downtown commercial district overlaps with three historic districts – the Four Corners, Military Park, and the James Street Commons neighborhoods. As a result, the city has been ground zero for a debate about whether historic preservation and economic development can coexist. 

Making the issue even more complex is that Smith works in economic development as the executive director of the Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District. Many wondered which hat Smith would wear while leading the LHPC. 

For some people, like Liz Del Tufo, preservation is not only about saving historic architecture – it is about preserving the look, feel, and zoning of the surrounding neighborhood as well.

Del Tufo, who was chair of the city’s inaugural LHPC, said she is “anxious” about the future of the city’s historic districts, which she helped create. 

“When commissioners start saying that the reason to approve a building is so that more people will move to Newark – that’s economic development,” she said. “That’s not preservation.”

The proposed Arc Tower would be located across the street from Peddie Memorial Church in Newark. Image Credit: Darren Tobia

In 2023, Israel Weiss from Ocean View Capital Management presented a plan for a 45-story building called Arc Tower in the James Street Commons Historic District. It was approved, but preservationists opposed the behemoth tower, accusing it of diminishing other landmarks, particularly Peddie Baptist Church and Trinity Cathedral, by making them seem less grand as a result. “It overshadows everything,” said Liz Del Tufo, president of Newark Landmarks. “I’m totally against buildings on Broad Street in historic districts that are taller than the Prudential Building, which is 24 stories.”

Before the forced resignations of Partyka and Holguin-Veras, the LHPC attempted to impose a height limit on new skyscrapers in the Four Corners Historic District. Holguin-Veras’s idea was to broker a truce by limiting their height to that of the tallest building in the neighborhood, the National Newark Building, built in 1931. But without support from the city’s land-use boards, the developer KS Group ignored that restriction.

This month, Smith encountered his first test when a developer proposed to demolish a historic building at 48-54 Branford Place in order to build a 32-story tower. When pressed, the project engineer admitted the building could be spared but required renovation would have cost the developer a significant amount. Nevertheless, the Commission voted to demolish the building. In fairness, it wasn’t a contributing building to the historic district, but it was a historic building in a historic district that could have been saved. 

Developers often accuse preservationists of trying to restrict development at a time when downtown Newark still hasn’t reached its potential. There is no guarantee Newark, after decades of decline, will see another surge of construction again, so why not squeeze every possible story out of these boom years?

Edwards’ current colleague on the Landmarks Commission, historian Myles Zhang, said that a city can’t have economic development without historic preservation. “A culture of pure economic development sacrifices some of the culture and local identity,” Zhang said.

The entrance to Audible's headquarters in Newark inside a converted cathedral. Image Credit: Darren Tobia

Audible’s new Innovation Cathedral on James St. in Newark. Image Credit: Audible

The erasure of a city’s architecture might spur growth in the short term, but in the end, it destroys what makes a place unique and attracts residents to live and work there, he said. He believes that Audible’s 2019 adaptive use project, turning a 1933 cathedral on James Street into their headquarters should be a model for developers.  “It cost more up front, but Audible has a corporate headquarters that is unsurpassed anywhere in the world,” Zhang said.