MCI Collective (MCI), The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) & LMXD broke ground on a $336 million redevelopment of NJPAC’s 12-acre campus, a transformative project that will bring 350 mixed-income residences to downtown Newark along with shops, restaurants, outdoor gathering spaces, and a unique education and community center with professional rehearsal spaces.
The reimagined campus, scheduled to be completed in Fall 2027, will include ArtSide, a mixed-use, mixed-income residential complex developed by MCI & LMXD and designed by celebrated architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill. ArtSide will consist of 350 rental units (20% of which will be affordable housing) plus retail and cultural spaces — among them a new home for Newark’s beloved jazz public radio station, WBGO — as well as an extension of Mulberry Street, on what is now NJPAC’s Parking Lot A.
MCI & LMXD partnered with NJPAC to manage design, approvals and financing for the project. The firm’s invested significant time and financial resources into realizing NJPAC’s vision of downtown Newark’s future.
The 58,000-square-foot Cooperman Family Arts Education and Community Center, designed by the renowned architectural firm of Weiss/Manfredi, will be built on Parking Lot C. A dynamic redesign of NJPAC’s front yard, Chambers Plaza, and the addition of a new space, Essex County Green, to the Arts Center’s campus, will create a four-season urban park. Landscape architecture studio Future Green created the design for the new Chambers Plaza.
“NJPAC’s campus redevelopment is more than a construction project; it’s a powerful investment in Newark’s communities and future,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “This initiative will not only provide more housing and commercial spaces, but also create vibrant cultural and educational opportunities that will enrich the lives of Newark residents for generations to come. I’m proud to support this transformative project that embodies the spirit of creativity and inclusivity that is at the heart of our state.”
Among the partners who have joined in the planning and development of NJPAC’s campus redevelopment are the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), which granted the project’s $200M tax credits under the Transformative Aspire Program; Prudential Financial, which not only facilitated the master planning of the campus redesign more than five years ago, but committed to buying some of the project’s Aspire tax credits; Liberty Mutual, which committed to investing across the capital stack as both an Aspire tax credit investor and a limited partner; Citibank N.A., which spearheaded construction lending and low-income housing tax credit investing for the project; TD Bank, which provided NJPAC with financing for the Cooperman Center construction as well as other campus improvements; Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., and the County of Essex, who supported the redesign of campus outdoor spaces, New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency and Freddie Mac, which provided permanent loan commitments; and New Jersey Community Capital which provided support in New Market Tax Credits.
Philanthropic support from major donors who contributed to the Arts Center’s $244 million Capital Campaign, completed in December 2024, also helped finance the project. Notably, Leon and Toby Cooperman and the Cooperman family made a foundational gift to the construction of the Cooperman Center, which will headquarter NJPAC’s arts education, arts & well-being and community engagement initiatives.
“The streets of Newark have always been steeped in the arts. This is a city where jazz and hip hop are in the breeze, and every wall without a mural is just a canvas no one’s yet claimed,” said Mayor Baraka. “The new neighborhood around NJPAC will fully embrace that dynamic spirit, bringing more housing, stores and gathering places to our already lively downtown. And one of the highest notes of all will be the new headquarters for our city’s iconic jazz station, WBGO.”
“There’s a saying, if you want to travel fast go alone but if you want to travel far go together. Today is a culmination of years of working together as a team and a collective. This development is the definition of transformative and will change Newark into a 24/7 city,” said Siree Morris, MCI’s founder and CEO.
About MCI Collective
MCI Collective (MCI) is a New Jersey-based real estate firm founded by Siree Morris, and focuses on the acquisition, development, and re-vitalization of multi-family properties in the Tri-State area. The firm targets assets in under-served urban communities that have historically suffered from dis-investment and thrives on public/private partnerships focused on equitable access to quality housing and vital goods and services. MCI takes a “block by block” development philosophy, focusing on sites and projects with sufficient scale to catalyze larger scale urban transformation.