NEWARK − Construction on a much-needed multi-family housing development begins Friday with a groundbreaking at The Landing at Newark Station, a $24 million, three-story, three-building apartment complex of 108 units at West Main and 11th streets.
The ceremony begins 6 p.m. Friday at The Yard at Newark Station, 325 W. Main St., kicking off the Newark Station Arts & Music Festival, which continues through Sunday. The groundbreaking will then move to the adjacent development site, at 365 W. Main St.
The Landing will have 16 studio apartments, 52 one-bedroom units, and 40 two-bedroom units. It will also include apool, game room, fitness center, clubhouse, balconies, select rooftop access, art features, new sidewalks, a walking path from West Main to Jefferson alongside Newark Station and 168 parking spaces. The first units will be available in summer/fall of 2023.
Construction:West Main Street closure to last until mid-November
The apartments will be adjacent to Newark Station, the $11 million, 140,000 square foot, multi-use development that started last year on the 10-acre former White-Westinghouse industrial site. The four-year project will include of a coffee shop, lounge, 22 loft apartments, rooftop bar, modern-day trading post featuring artisans and entrepreneurs, office space, Italian restaurant and possibly a city park along Raccoon Creek.
Seth Stout, a partner with Horus & Ra Development, of Columbus, and a partner in the Newark Station development, said the area desperately needs multi-family housing. The development was planned and announced last year before Intel announced it would build a $20 billon computer chip manufacturing facility near Johnstown, requiring thousands of workers.
“Housing is in incredibly short supply,” Stout said. “It’s about problem-solving and as a developer, that’s what we do. The Intel announcement just made us wish we could build them faster. We anticipate demand will fill the first building.”
The first building, under construction on the 2.8-acre parcel facing West Main Street, will have 40 apartments, a leasing office, mail room and clubhouse. It should be completed in about 11 months, Stout said.
The second building, across from the Newark Station volleyball courts, will have 24 apartments, pool, fitness center, game room, and shared tenant kitchen. The third building, facing Jefferson Street, will have 44 apartments. The entire development is scheduled for completion in 16 months, with each building completed about two months after the previous one is finished.
Stout said The Landing is only taking leasing inquiries now, which those interested can fill out on its website: www.thelandingnewark.com. Leases won’t be signed until the new year, when site visits will be available. Leasing rates won’t be available until the first of the year, he said.
Stout said developers can’t expect Intel to build housing for its workers. He said he’s been in several meetings where Intel made presentations, and the company made it clear they are not in the business of housing, but semiconductors.
He said developers, owners and managers of apartments share the blame for the bad reputation multi-family housing has in some areas.
“There’s reasons for that,” Stout said. “You do need to have a great management team, a great maintenance team and need to think of your tenants when you’re building. We’re trying to build communities people will want to live in. A lot of developers never lived in (an apartment).”
Newark City Council will consider a resolution Oct. 3 on an agreement with The Landing developers for roadway improvements to West Main and South 11th streets. The resolution states, “The new apartment development will require major reconstruction and improvements to the south side of West Main Street and the east half of South 11th Street adjacent to the development site.”
The festival will have free admission 5-10 p.m. Friday. The admission will be $20 on Saturday and $20 on Sunday, or $30 for both days. The festival hours will be open 1-10 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, but the site opens at noon both days.
Stout said he’s involved in other projects in Licking County, including building a corporate headquarters and 40,000 square foot data center for Horus and Ra and Obelisk Industries on Beech Road, not far from Ohio 161. Another project is in the village of New Albany in Franklin County on High Street, and a third in the Newark-Granville area.
The Horus and Ra website states it has projects in four cities, 11 active deals and $51 million in active development.
Joining Stout as Horus and Ra partners are Esteban Ceron and Kareem Amr. The project is a joint venture with Zero Percent, a financial services company owned by Tyler Bossetti and Jeff Sekinger. Horus and Ra is named after 1st Dynasty ancient Egyptian deities Horus, the first pharaoh, and Ra, the creator god.
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Twitter: @kmallett1958
