Waterfront Walkway Opens, Scissors Not Required

The Long Slip Pedestrian bridge and connecting segment of the waterfront walkway in front of Newport opened to foot traffic, at least unofficially. The bridge links Hoboken to Jersey City. Surprisingly, no red ribbons were injured in the opening of the bridge.

Corzine's Scissors Only Obstacle to Pedestrian Bridge

The Long Slip Pedestrian Bridge is ready to go except for one thing: a ceremonial ribbon cutting including Governor and candidate for re-election Jon Corzine. The much delayed connection between Jersey City and Hoboken was suppose to open in the in the Spring of this year; unexplained delays then pushed the opening date to August.

The Long Slip Pedestrian Bridge is being built by NJ Transit and will connect from the Hoboken Terminal to the Newport neighborhood in Jersey City. According to Newport Associates, their segment of the walkway in the northern quadrant is ready to open, and they are simply waiting for NJ Transit to open the bridge. NJ Transit however, has refused to comment on the expected "completion" date.

Over the weekend, a brief Q&A between the New York Times and Newport CEO James LeFrak revealed the new expected opening date is sometime in September, to be accompanied by an appearance of Jon Corzine.

NJ Transit Bridge Nearing Completion

The footbridge connecting Jersey City's waterfront with Hoboken is nearly complete. The bridge will create an important link in the waterfront walkway and connect the Newport development in Jersey City directly to the Hoboken Terminal.

The project was long talked about and much delayed by the transit agency. A small, unused canal separates Jersey City from the Hoboken rail yards adding to the expense of completing the walkway. The bridge is mostly built with railings, pavers and lighting yet to be installed. The project, scheduled to be finished in June, will provide a more direct route for pedestrians between the two cities.

For now, the pathway will route through the Hoboken Terminal. Eventually the walkway will extend around the exterior of the station though these tentative plans are not finalized.

The Lefrak organization completed a final segment of the waterfront walkway between the Aqua tower and the new bridge last year. When the bridge opens, the waterfront park will extend from Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken south to the Colgate Clock in Paulus Hook, minus a short segment in Newport where the Lefraks built an office building up to the waterline. One day, the hope is to connect waterfront parks from the George Washington Bridge to Liberty State Park.

Newport Residents Fight Over Naming Rights

The long standing battle between Sonia Maldonado and Robert Vivien over the use of the name Newport Neighborhood Association continues, reports the Journal. Maldonado, the caustic personality behind NewportVoice.com, and Vivien, a local eccentric, have been fighting for over a year in what can best be described as a petty argument over the use of name for two irrelevant organizations. If it all wasn't so absurd, it wouldn't worth mentioning.

Frozen Puddle Re-Opens in Newport

The sad little skating rink in Newport opens for the season today. The miniature rink was intended to attract non-Newport residents to the retail stores at the north end of the development, overlooking the fact that customers probably want interesting retail options, not a skating rink.

Skating at Newport will set you back a $5 admission fee and $5 rental. Skating at Bryant Park is Free.

Newport Skates

Aqua Tower to Double Retail

Newport's Aqua tower which recently started getting its exterior cladding is set to amend its final design phase, according to the Jersey Journal. The tower was originally planned as having 16,000 square feet of retail but is bumping that to 34,610 feet. The total residential unit count is going from 358 to 355.

The Aqua is to serve as the east side of Newport's River Market. The River Market concept was meant to bring a downtown like shopping experience to an otherwise retail scarce neighborhood. The first phase of the River Market was the retail in the base of the Shore Club, which includes a bank and the recently opened Morton Williams grocery store. The Newport skating rink is also meant to attract customers to the market in the winter time.

However, the focus of the market so far seems to be in providing services to residents rather than creating a retail destination. Additions expected in the Aqua portion of retail include a pizzeria and a school, neither of which draw in window shoppers.

Aqua Tower Getting Skin

Newport's Aqua Tower is finally getting a glass and concrete skin. The tower's shell was topped off months ago, yet little progress was made on the exterior. The base of the tower will be the east side of the Newport River Market, a marketing moniker created by the Lefraks with the hope of bringing more retail to Newport. So far a school and pizzeria are expected in the base.

Summer Retail Thriving Downtown

Newport
Morton Williams opened yesterday in the base of the Shore Club in Newport. The high end grocery store is responsible for Newport rescinding the summer farmer's market at the Pavonia PATH station. The waterfront location is the first in New Jersey for the New York chain of premium grocers.

Kim's Video in Newport is rumored to be closing come Sunday, with genuine closeout deals on all the merchandise, up to 50% off. Kim's had been suffering a slow death over the last year.


Kim's Video in Newport


Newark Avenue
Newark Avenue looking a bit more like Paris these days. Cafe tables have sprouted up along the street in the mythical Restaurant Row. Helen's Pizza started the trend, but tables are now outside of Sawadee Thai and bar/lounge/bistro LITM. The roof deck at Skinner's Loft has also opened for the season, though apparently is only for dinner between 7 and 9.

One of the generic Newark Avenue electronics stores is closing shop and moving a block west, to reopen at 184 Newark Avenue. The independent electronic shop is taking over where Helen's Ice Cream stand was, adjacent to Helen's Pizza. The new space is much smaller.

Gas Clothing, an apparel store, recently opened as well. The building received a face lift too with the ugly metal grates having been ripped off the front -- a sure sign that the neighborhood is changing.

Gas, a new clothing store

Grove Street
Rachel, the awful little cafe on the south end of Grove Street that closed last year may soon become a new restaurant promises a sign posted in the window. The new eatery will make use of the outdoor garden and is rumored to be another Thai restaurant.


A new restaurant on Grove Street


A new wine and spirit shop is planned for Grove Street just north of Newark Avenue in the old Crescent Restaurant location, an eatery long since closed.

Crescent on Grove Street is no more

Jersey Avenue
Fish With Braids, a new gallery, opened on Jersey Avenue between Newark Avenue and Columbus Blvd. The space is small. The name, by the way, comes from the fact that the location is between a hair braiding salon and a fish market.


Fish With Braids gallery on Jersey Avenue


Shoe Fetish, a small boutique of featuring ladies shoes, has thrown in the towel and closed up shop. Our take is that the store probably was catering to ladies of the evening when they should have instead been stocking Converse.


Shoe Fetish has failed


Grove Pointe
Valley National Bank is setting up shop in Grove Pointe on the Marin Blvd side of the tower. Along with Starbucks and Duane Reade, Grove Pointe's retail is looking like nearly every street corner in Manhattan.

Newport Aqua Tower

The Aqua tower under construction now will soon be the newest rental tower in the Newport section of Jersey City. Seen here from the Hoboken Terminal, the tower rises in front of two condominium towers. The base of the building will contain retail and form a "river market."

New Abatement Scheme Could Breath Life into Monaco Towers

Back in January, Roseland properties wanted to alter the terms of their 2006 abatement, from a 20 year program to 10. The developer was having trouble securing financing for the project even though they essentially broke ground last May. The council rejected the changes in January.

The 47 story project includes about 520 rental apartments; the project originally was planned as condominiums. After the council denied amending the abatement, the project was declared dead.

Now though the proposal is once again back before the city council according to the Journal. In order to keep the project alive, the council decided to revisit the issue. The developer had also made a previous payment in anticipation of construction, which the city would have to repay. With the changes, the city would no longer be liable for reimbursing the money, and there is a financial incentive for the development to be completed by 2011.

However, critics of the amendment, including downtown councilman Steve Fulop, insist that the change will lead to other developers seeking changes to abatement their plans, such as The Metropolitan, a 67 story tower planned for a lot adjacent to the Monaco towers, but that is also experiencing finance issues. Another prime candidate would be second, unbuilt Trump Tower. Like with the Monaco property, the developers have already made a abatement payment for the second tower and may leverage the money for a new payment program.

The council is expected to vote on the plan tonight.

Westin Hotel to Have Steakhouse

The currently under construction Westin Hotel will be home to a "signature steakhouse" according to Starwood Hotels website. The hotel is set to open November 1, and is currently considering group reservations only.

UPDATE

The steakhouse planned for the Westin Hotel will be South City Prime, a new division of South City Grill. South City Grill operates in the base of Newport's Pacific building.

Bits & Briefs

Renting Beats Buying (Or Not)
The Times wants you to buy an apartment because its super cheap.

Cops Smell Leak
Diesel leaks from a tank at the Marina in Newport.

J.J. Reports AXA Signs Lease in Newport, Wonders What This Internet Thing Is

Two weeks after AXA Insurance announced leasing 245,000 square feet at Newport Tower in Newport, the Jersey Journal reminds us once again why newsprint is so last century. Next week, Dewey defeats Truman.

NJ Transit Finally to Break Ground on Waterfront Walkway

Hoboken Now is reporting that NJ Transit will officially break ground on the long overdue connection between Hoboken and Jersey City waterfront. The walkway, a grand park along the Hudson River that one day could theoretically connect Bayonne to the foot of the George Washington Bridge is being built in pieces. Private developers are compelled to build out their section of the walkway when seeking development approvals for construction along the water.

The NJ Transit portion of the walkway would bridge southern Hoboken with Jersey City at Newport. The Lefrak organization has built their portion of the walkway up to the currently under construction Aqua rental tower. The NJ Transit portion of the walkway will lead to no where until the Lefrak organization completes about a thousand feet of walkway in the northern quadrant. While the northern quadrant may not be built out for several years, the Lefraks have pledged to connect the existing walkway with NJ Transit's portion ahead of the planned high rises.

NJ Transit's portion of the walkway is seen as a critical link. The property, owned by NJ Transit could easily have been overlooked by an agency more concerned with operating buses and trains than building parks.

At present, there are a few holes in the walkway. At second street, construction of Crystal Pointe has temporarily closed a previously finished section of the walkway. The walkway continues through Exchange Place to Veteran's Park where a short segment of Essex Street is also disconnected. The walkway then continues south from the Morris Canal Park up to the under construction Liberty Harbor North.

Shore Club Suffers As NuVisions Hooks Up Communications Services

NuVision, the communication company contracted to provide services in Newport, announced Shore's 216 South Tower residents can look forward to poor customer service and sporadic outages. Newport's other 4,660 apartments already have NuVision service.

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Coming To Newport

New York based AXA insurance signed a 15 year lease for nearly 250,000 square feet of space in Newport Tower, reports CoStar Group. The lease begins next year.

Newport Tower is the center piece of Lefrak's office towers in Newport, standing 36 stories and completed in 1991.

Credit Crisis, Council Stalls Monaco Towers

Monaco Towers, a major residential tower on Washington Blvd and Sixth Street, kinda, sorta broke ground last June. After a few pilings found their way into the ground, construction stopped-- and the credit market had a melt down. The towers, originally planned as a condominium project has since become a rental project.

Hudson Now reported the developer, Roseland Properties, needed an amended abatement program to secure financing for the project. The original program called for a 20 year abatement at 16 percent, but Roseland now wants 15 years at 12 percent. The Journal reports that the council denied the amended changes.

The project could have broken ground, again, as early as this spring. However, without the changes to the abatements, the developer may not be able to entice investors particularly as the economy enters a recession, real estate prices slump, and other projects received the abatements at 12 percent. The 330 unit project designed by SLCE Architects may now be stalled indefinitely. Renderings of the towers, and sister project The San Remo, are available at the Wired Forums.

Newport Skating Rink To Open, Be Slippery

The Journal reports Newport's skating rink is set to open on Wednesday following the lighting of the Newport Christmas Tree. Beginning at 6:30, skating will be free for two hours. After tomorrow though, skates and rink time will cost $5 weeknights and $6 on weekends. By contrast, skating at Bryant Park (42nd St and 5th Avenue), in Manhattan, is free (bring your own lock for the lockers).

The skating rink sits directly in front of Newport's newest condominium tower, The Shore Club and is intended to draw in customers from outside of Newport to the River Market. The River Market is a branding term for the collection of retail stores in the base of the Shore building and Aqua, a 31 story tower directly east of Shore Club will also eventually have retail.

Bits & Briefs

MSTI Holdings (NuVisions) Enhances Customer Experience at Newport
Newport communications infrastructure improved.

Aqua Photos
Blogger Jersey City Construction beats the Newport rent-a-cops and snaps photos of the now 31 story Aqua and the new skating rink.

Aqua Photos

New to the constructionporn scene is the Jersey City Construction blog. Having sneaked past the rent-a-cops in Newport, the JC Construction blog brings us photos of the now 26 story Aqua building, as well as some shots of the elephant statues in front of the Shore Club.

Newport: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

The Lefrak family may have built working class digs in Queens, but the LeFraks, after restoring the upper case F are focusing on luxury markets like Newport, reports the NY Times.

But more interesting is LeFrak's aversion to debt; "There is little or no debt on the family’s holdings: 22 million square feet of residential property, the equivalent of about 25,000 apartments, and 12 million square feet of office space." All this means that the slow and steady pace of Newport will continue regardless of the credit available to other builders in the area.

Construction Disrupts Light Rail Weekend Service

Light rail service between Newport and Harsimus Cove will be suspended on weekends until the middle of October, reports the Jersey Journal. This is most likely connected with construction on the Westin Hotel Tower on the corner of Washington and Sixth Street, though not confirmed.

NJ Transit to Build Bridge to Newport

A lynchpin component of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway will be built by NJ Transit, reports Hoboken411. The bridge will connect Newport and Hoboken sometime in the Spring of 2009, with the Lefrak Organization building a temporary extension between the bridge and permanent walkway.

Possible Groundbreaking At Monaco I, II

A crane and what looks to be pilings were evident today in the parking lot at the corner of Sixth Street and Washington Blvd, site of the future Monaco Towers. Renderings of the towers can be viewed at the wired forums. The two Monaco towers are to built north of the the existing Doubletree Hotel on the south side of Sixth Street. The Sanremo will be built to the south. In the below photo, the Monaco towers will be to the right of the existing hotel.



UPDATE

Ground breaking is pretty much confirmed with pilings being driven directly into the parking lot. More Photos on the Photoblog

5 Shops Will Create "Market" In Newport

With the south tower of Newport's Shore Club already finished and the North tower advancing rapidly, it is only a matter of time before the much hyped River Market opens. Residents hoping for a true shopping district though are likely to be disappointed.

Retail space has always been a part of the Newport development, most notably the Newport Mall. But shopping in a mall is not at all the same thing as browsing boutiques or sipping coffee at an outdoor cafe. Existing storefronts along the streets of Newport don't really offer much in the way of a shopping, providing residents with services like dry cleaning and ATMs. Many hoped the River market would change this, bringing a shopping district more akin to an actual downtown to the Newport neighborhood.

Residents may be dismayed to learn though that only five shops will be opening beneath the Shore Club, in addition to a grocery store and of course, another bank. Three 1200 square foot storefronts are available and two larger ones, according to this marketing brochure (PDF). Retail this may be, but a shopping district it is not.

Bits & Briefs

Tastes Like Turkey
The Village Voice crosses the Hudson River to discover Its Greek To Me; dozens of other restaurants consider serving gyros.

Newport Plans On Agenda
Newport is formally seeking final approval for the Ellipse tower and the Lefrak Museum, which is absolutely not going to be called the Lefrak Museum.

Collision stalls Hoboken light rail
A truck ran a red light and struck a light rail train.

Another Newport Masterplan

The northeast quadrant of the Newport redevelopment site has been planned, essentially since the onset of development in Newport. Earlier this week we mentioned the addition of the Herbert Hoover to the line up of dead presidents adorning Newport's shores. This came along with approvals for two other towers, for a total of five new buildings. In either case, we were digging around the internet today and came across another masterplan for Newport, from the architectural firm Gruzen Samton. The renderings. are not much different from LeFrak's publicly posted plans [PDF], but it may shed some light on a few more details of the area marked as "future" projects.

Bits & Briefs

Hoboken park funded
The Journal reports that Hoboken received the last $200,000 of the needed $7.1 Million to build a park at 1600 Park Avenue

Panty Bandits Raid Jersey City Mall
Sorority houses across the state are on the lookout after a Panty Raid at the Newport Mall.

Lorillard-- Not Quite History - But Going!
Blogger Uncle Tonoose has a few photos of 111 First Coming Down.

Herbert Hoover To Join Dead Presidents In Newport

Jersey City's Newport neighborhood is about to get another dead President joining the line up of river side towers. The Herbert Hoover, a 29 story building on 14th street was approved last Tuesday, reports the Jersey City Reporter (with renderings). Also approved was The Savoy, a 17 story tower at 45 14th Street.

Newport Buildings

Last week we mentioned two new Newport buildings planned for 14th Street from last night's planning board agenda. But we realized that there is in fact a third Newport building planned for that same stretch of road. Looking back at the February 27th Agenda (PDF), we noticed a 7 story building planned for 2 Shore Lane, a new little street just north of the Shore Club. We double checked the Newport Masterplan (PDF} and found in fact that there are three "future" buildings running east along the 14th Street Extension.

With the Aqua presently under construction just east of the Shore Club, and the Ellipse planned for the pier just east of 14th Street, it seems the northern end of Newport is quickly being realized with a total of 5 new buildings.

Building Proposals

The March 13 Planning Board Meeting agenda (PDF) went online and has revealed plans for a few new (and older) projects.

First on the list is the long awaited Harborside Plaza 4. Harborside 4A, went up in 2000 as essentially a giant parking garage in anticipation of Harborside 4. But with the saturation of new office space over the last few years, the project was put on hold for a bit. More recently though, vacancy rates have dropped, which is probably why Harborside 4 is back on the table. Emporis has an older rendering of building.

From the Planning Board Agenda:

"Address: Hudson Street & Columbus Drive
Block: 10 Lot: 20
Zone: Exchange Place North Redevelopment Plan
Description: Plaza 4, Harborside Financial Center, 1,067,000sf office tower with 600 parking spaces and ground floor retail."


Next up are two more proposals from the Lefrak Organization on the northward expansion of Newport. Lefrak sought an extension a few months back of a 2003 approval for 45 14th Street. The address in online mapping services puts both 45 and the new proposal, 75 14th St, west of Washington Blvd, in the Target parking lot. However, its more likely that the mapping services are confused by two addresses that don't exist. More likely is that these two proposals are planned for lots east of Washington. One of these is probably the Wilson, part of the Presidential towers complex. This theory matches the Newport Masterplan (PDF).

From the Planning Board Agenda:
"Applicant: Newport Associates Development Company
Address: 75 Fourteenth Street
Block: 20 Lot: 3.10
Zone: Newport Redevelopment Plan
Description: New mixed-use building with 341 dwelling units and 16,261sf of retail space. 29 stories tall atop a 1-story retail base.

Applicant: Newport Associates Development Company
Address: 45 Fourteenth Street
Block: 20 Lot: 3.15, 3.16
Zone: Newport Redevelopment Plan
Description: New 17-story mixed-use multi-family building with 146 residential units and 5,833sf of ground floor retail."

Finally, it seems that the Millennium Towers proposal has resurfaced. This was a tower complex planned for 18th Street to built over the light rail line with the addition of a new station. The Millennium Towers renderings had existed for a number of years, but seemed like the project was going nowhere. Also, its seems there is an explanation for the recent razing of buildings on 16th Street between Coles and Jersey. The Millennium Towers it seems will be using the space as a parking lot-- presumably only for the duration of construction.

From the Planning Board Agenda:

"Case: P07-009 Preliminary Major Site Plan Interim Parking Lot
Applicant: Millenium Towers, LLC
Address: 677 Grove Street
Block: 294.5 Lot: PL-A
Zone: Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Plan
Description: 436 space parking lot

Case: P07-006 Preliminary Major Site Plan Interim Parking Lot
Applicant: Millenium Towers, LLC
Address: 803 Jersey Avenue
Block: 328 Lot: 1-6, 9-12, 29-32, PL-A
Zone: Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Plan
Description: 289 space parking lot"

Bits & Briefs

Jersey Pearl
The New York Post discovers Jersey City. Most interesting tidbit-- only 8 units remain in the North Tower of the Shore Club.

Tea for Two
Jersey Journal shows Janam Indian Tea Shop the love.

NJ Transit study to determine light rail's impact
Next week officials ask whether people prefer jet packs or flying cars.

Hoboken Southwest Development
Hoboken411 has a bit about redeveloping the southwest corner of Hoboken with 8 story buildings.

8 Towers, Park, Retail Planned for Metro Plaza

The architectural firm Arquitectonica has posted new renderings of the Metropolitan, the 67 story tower planned for the northeast corner of the Metro Plaza shopping center where Pep Boys is now. Included with the renderings on the architect's website is a short description:

"A total of eight residential buildings are planned, which surround a newly developed park... Retail lines the park and the newly created boulevard, offering both boutique and big box options"

Via Wired Forums

Aqua: Higher, Fewer Units?

The Aqua, one of the next buildings going in over at the northern end of Newport, right down in front of the as yet to be completed Shore Club, might be getting just a little higher.

According to one post on the Wired New York Forums, the building is going before the planning board for a slight height increase, more retail space, and five fewer units.

Meanwhile, it seems the footprint for Aqua has already been cleared in preparation for a early spring groundbreaking.

Newport Expansion Revealed

Well its not exactly fresh news that Newport will be getting a few more towers. Both the Aqua and the Ellipse were announced months ago, and The Shore Club is well under construction. However, we took the time to build a map of where the Aqua and the Ellipse will be going up in relation to the rest of Newport, just in case it was unclear, and it was to us, for quite a while.



Keep in mind nothing is certain until the concrete is dry, but its fairly likely that this is the future layout of the northern end of Newport. The Aqua will be 32 stories and have 363 units. The Ellipse will have 325 units.

As usual, a larger map is available on the PhotoBlog.

The Shore At Newport

The Newest addition to the Newport skyline is the Shore Club. Area residents may soon learn that glass towers are just as opaque as the brick kind, but ruined views aside, these twins are looking pretty good.



And for those of you looking for a glimpse of the tower but don't actually want to go to Newport, we've got more photos right here.

Sixth Street Condos

While we're still waiting to find out the fate of the embankment, a small construction project is now offering up condos. 204 Sixth Street is just a few blocks from Hamilton park, but with killer views of an old elevated rail line with a fate yet to be decided, who wouldn't want to live two blocks from the mall?



More Photos
Realtors Site

The Metropolitan

The massive tower proposed for Metro Plaza, known as the Metropolitan, may rise to 755 feet. That's a lot of feet. In either case, curbed came a across a photo.

Pep Boys To Sprout Tower

A massive tower has been proposed for Metro Plaza's Pep boys. This is the first tower proposal for the one story high Metro Plaza, a rather unfriendly set of big box stores more appropriate for the 'burbs than for a downtown neighborhood.

Newport Waterfront Video

Blogger Poli-Gon has a short video of a short walk along the Newport waterfront.

Newport Turns 20, Still Needs Fake ID

The Newport area of Jersey City celebrated its 20th birthday recently. The large scale urban redevelopment project broke ground in 1986 and is said to be the largest planned community in the world.

The Shore Club

Jersey City Vibe has some detailed information on the new Shore Club development in the Northern area of Newport. We couldn't find the exact location of this two tower residential complex, but after looking over the architectural renderings, a nice little video clip, and then comparing it all to Google maps, we're almost certain this building is going up at the corner of Newport Parkway and North Blvd.

What we did find interesting is that JCVibe mentions 37,000 square feet of retail space food store. Our hopes of course are for a Whole Foods. Sadly, 37,000 square feet appears to fall short when compared to the size of other stores under development.

Compromise Reached Over Newport Parking Fees; Mall Still Sucks

Three cheers to everyone involved for striking a deal with the owners of the Newport Mall-- Jersey City residents can now get a dollar discount for parking in the mall garage.

The discount was negotiated by Councilman Steven Fulop who was hoping to get his name in the local newspapers. Residents will have to present a valid driver's license as proof of residency to get the dollar off. And the garage cashier won't be authorized to give the discount. Instead, folks will need to go to the mall information desk where waiting on line will likely surpass the 3 hour limit.

Meanwhile, Jersey Gardens, Garden State Plaza, and Willowbrook mall still offer free parking, and unlike Newport, don't suck. [Well, Jersey Garden's does, but at least the parking is free].

Small Children To Overrun Jersey City

Stevens Cooperative School is opening a campus in Newport signaling the end of childfree yuppie bliss in downtown Jersey City. Soon, sidewalks will be congested with strollers and your favorite bar will be replaced with a Toy Store.

Via NWA

Pavonia / Newport Neighborhood

Luxury low rise and high rise apartments line the waterfront near the Pavonia / Newport PATH station. The area was once the termination point for numerous railroads, but as America's rails languished, so did this industrial center. Newport has since become "the largest planned mixed-use development" in the world combining retail, commercial office space, and apartments along Jersey City's coastline. The city was built primarily by the LeFrak organization, a major Jersey City developer that plans on building perhaps as twenty more towers in and around the area.

The hub of the complex is of course the PATH station. The Newport Center mall connects directly to the station, as does several of the commercial office towers. There are primarily three main plazas. The Commercial office towers are numbered sequentially and with the softening of the office space market, no new towers are planned in the foreseeable future. The oldest of the residential complexes is the Presidential plaza named after American Presidents. Completed during the last ten years are are the Plaza of the Americas including The Pacific and Atlantic Towers.

Most of Newport are "efficient little boxes" consisting of phallic like verticality. However, The Lefrak organization promises future buildings beginning with presently under construction Shore Club will present more unique styling. The Aqua and the Ellipse-- two proposed buildings situated near the Shore Club-- will meet these new style challenges. In essence, the Shore Club, the Aqua, and the Ellipse will be a more modern Phase III.

Major big box stores in include Target, Staples, Models Sporting Goods as well as the Newport Mall anchor stores Macy's, Kohls, and Sears. Adjacent to the Newport mall is the Metro Plaza shopping center including a Shoprite, Shoprite Liquor, BJ's Wholesale, Bed, Bath and Beyond and a Pep Boys auto center slated to become the states tallest residential tower, the Metropolitan.

Below, the Newport center towers along Washington Drive. In the foreground, the Riverside Tower, part of the Plaza of the Americas.

Newport Office Towers

Newport Tower
Newport Center I
Newport Center III
Newport Center IV
Newport Center V
Newport Center VI
Newport Center VII

Newport Residential Towers

Newport Presidential Towers
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
John Adams
George Washington
The Roosevelet
The Lincoln

Newport America Towers
Atlantic Tower
Riverside Tower
Pacific Tower
East Hampton
South Hampton