Newark Mayor Ras Baraka today announced that the historic Hahne & Co. building in downtown Newark will be powered by Newark Fiber (newarkfiber.org), the city’s new high speed internet program. Upon completion, Hahne’s will be the largest private residential development project with gigabit apartments in New Jersey, offering residents and businesses 1,000 Mbps and 10,000 Mbps speeds.  This can be up to 100 times faster than most internet offerings. 

“It is very exciting for Newark Fiber to power the newly redeveloped Hahne’s building,” said Mayor Baraka, “because it combines the rebirth of a historic Newark Department store with the City’s future as a world class technology center. Newark's cutting edge fiber infrastructure is already paying off in new jobs, new development and our city's growing prosperity.”

The Newark Fiber program was launched in November as a public-private partnership run by Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) to provide gigabit services to Newark residents.

“This is an incredible customer for Newark Fiber,” said NCEDC Acting President and CEO Scott Blow. “We think it will demonstrate how gig internet can make redevelopment opportunities even more attractive to tenants.”

The Newark Fiber program is made possible by connecting the City’s infrastructure with private fiber and existing ISPs and was funded by a grant from The Prudential Foundation. The network will be delivered and operated by GigXero Inc, a national, next generation network provider with commercial and mixed residential installations throughout Newark, Cambridge, Mass., and Chicago. To learn more visit: www.newarkfiber.org.

The redevelopment of the historic Hahne & Co. building is a $174 million, public-private partnership that will result in 160 units of new mixed-income housing, 75,000 square feet of retail and 100,000 square feet of commercial, community and office uses, including Newark’s first Whole Foods grocer and an arts and cultural center for Rutgers University. Until recently, the 400,000 square-foot building has stood vacant after shutting its doors nearly three decades ago. The building is scheduled for opening in January 2017.

The revitalization of the building, which is being undertaken by L+M Development Partners, Prudential Financial, Inc., Goldman Sachs and Citibank, was designed to catalyze economic development, create jobs and reestablish Newark’s identity as a center for art, commerce, and technological innovation. The project is a crucial component in building a 24/7 neighborhood to link the diverse communities located in the downtown area. The project is also supported by local co-developers Hanini Group and Crawford Street Partners.

In honor of the building’s historic significance, the project will preserve key elements of the structure including the original façade and famed, expansive skylight. The first floor will feature a shared lobby and public atrium that will connect the Hahne & Co. building to a newly constructed, mixed-use building at the corner of Halsey and New Streets.

About L+M Development Partners

Since its founding in 1984, L+M Development Partners, Inc. has been an innovator in developing quality affordable, mixed-income and market rate housing, while improving the neighborhoods in which it works. A full-service firm, L+M works from conception to completion, handling development, investment, construction and management with creativity that leads the industry. L+M is responsible for more than $4 billion in development, construction and investment, and has created or preserved more than 15,000 high-quality residential units in New York’s tri-state area, the West Coast and Gulf Coast regions. L+M brings a superior level of commitment to its investments in developments, and equally important, to its investment in people. For more information, please visit:http://lmdevpartners.com