CetraRuddy to Transform Downtown Building into Residences
CetraRuddy, the award-winning architecture, planning and interior design firm, has been commissioned for the new design and repositioning of 540 Broad Street in downtown Newark. The project - an adaptive reuse of the original landmarked New Jersey Bell building by acclaimed Art Deco architect Ralph Walker - will consist of approximately 260 units of housing, including affordable housing, as well as 60,000 square feet of office, retail and other nonresidential uses. It is among the largest conversion projects underway in Newark, a fast-growing market for residences and commercial space.
The developer, 540 Broad Street Owners LLC, with support from L+M Development Partners and Prudential Financial, Inc., will reimagine the 436,000-square-foot tower at the corner of Lombardy Street and Broad Street in Newark, while also preserving its historic character. The 1929 building was designed for the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company by Ralph Thomas Walker, who was hailed in The New York Times as the “architect of the century.” In 2005, the building’s exterior and majestic lobby were added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The handsome brick-and-sandstone building has been home to the regional offices of Verizon, which will remain in the building.