(The following story by George E. Jordan appeared on the Star-Ledger website on March 5.)
NEWARK, N.J. — A yellow backhoe loader yesterday was perched over a gaping hole on Broad Street at the northern end of downtown Newark, slowing traffic to a crawl.
From morning rush-hour until dusk, workers in hard hats climbed in and out of the pit that gives them access to underground gas and electric lines.
The work crews have become an around-the-clock presence on northern Broad as New Jersey Transit steps up construction of a one-mile light-rail trolley between the Broad Street and Newark Penn stations.
State and city officials believe the rail link will transform the intersection of Broad and Interstate 280, a long-neglected part of downtown, into a hub filled with housing, corporate office space, shops and restaurants.
It’s also sparking interest from one of the largest developers in the state.
The Gale Co. of Florham Park, for example, confirmed it is in preliminary negotiations to build a mixed-use development on the site of the abandoned Westinghouse factory west of the light-rail tracks and the vacant Lincoln Motel site to the east.
“New rail access is the most significant generator of economic activity,” said Jamie Lefrak, who manages Newport, his family’s Jersey City office and residential development. “It creates the opportunity for high-density style construction.”
The $147 million rail line will run above ground from the Broad Street station (also known as Erie Lackawanna) and have stops at Washington Park, Newark Bears Stadium and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center before going underground to enter Penn Station.
It will provide direct access to Penn Station from Midtown Direct, the commuter rail service that runs from Midtown Manhattan to the far reaches of Warren, Morris, Somerset, Union and Essex counties.
In the future, transit officials plan to expand the trolley to Newark Liberty International Airport and, eventually, Elizabeth.
“That particular location has every major bus, it’s got the train. It has value,” Miles Berger, owner of the Lincoln Motel site and several large downtown Newark buildings, said. “It’s sort of a sleeper.”
The Lincoln was previously a Holiday Inn before it became run- down, tattered and a homeless shelter that was the focal point of several police investigations. Berger closed the Lincoln four years ago.
The Westinghouse building is polluted with “heavy metals, chemical washes used in the production of electrical items,” according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. The factory’s owner, US Realty and Investment, estimated five years ago the cleanup would cost as much as $25 million.
The building opened in 1899, grew into a major production facility for automobile ignitions, gears, relays, pinions and household appliances like toasters, steam irons and household fans.
Some important radio firsts occurred at the factory, including KDKA’s 1920 coverage of Harding’s presidential election victory over James Cox. The broadcast was peppered with commercials for Horne’s Department Store, which sold Westinghouse’s $10 home radio receivers. It marked the birth of commercial radio. KDKA eventually became WABC.
Despite its rail and bus service, the north Broad Street neighborhood has struggled. At least a half- dozen developments — everything from hotels, office buildings and apartments — were announced with fanfare.
But none of the projects materialized.