Newark Approves 24-Unit Building for Upper Clinton Hill's Vacant Clinton Avenue Lot

A long-vacant lot at the corner of Leslie Street and Clinton Avenue in Newark's Upper Clinton Hill is set to become a four-story mixed-use building with 24 apartments and two ground-floor retail pads, after the city's Central Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the project. The development will rise on a vacant site along Clinton Avenue in Newark's South Ward.

According to Jersey Digs, architectural plans show the building will occupy roughly 6,750 square feet and span a combined 23,884 square feet across its four stories. The residential portion will include 12 one-bedroom apartments, 9 two-bedroom units, and 3 three-bedroom apartments, with unit sizes ranging between 588 and 951 square feet. The commercial portion fronting Clinton Avenue will total 1,866 square feet.

Vancho Tolomanosi, who represented applicant 760 Clinton Ave Shoho LLC, requested nine variances tied to yard setbacks, an insufficient street-facing façade, ground-floor heights, and illumination on the premises, per the outlet's report. He also sought a design waiver for insufficient parking space dimensions. Although neighborhood zoning does not require parking to be built on site, the project will add 23 parking spaces accessible via Leslie Street, including four spots reserved for electric vehicles and two accessible spaces.

A Vacant Lot With a $71,000 Backstory

760 Clinton Ave Shoho, a company based in Clifton, acquired the property in May 2020 for $71,344, the report notes. The site had an assessed value of $534,900. No construction timeline has been provided by the applicant, so it remains unclear when work on the four-story building will begin.

Just across the street at 15 Leslie Street sits First Zion Hill Baptist Church, which owns 20 other lots in the immediate area. The church's congregation supports the project, and Bishop Dellroger Dunmore submitted testimony fully backing the proposal. The same source reported that the development is expected to have a positive impact on the neighborhood.

Part of a Bigger Push Along Clinton Avenue

The 760 Clinton Avenue approval is one piece of a larger wave of redevelopment moving through the corridor. The project site sits near two other Clinton Avenue properties where the planning board has already approved additional housing and retail space, including a proposal under application CPB 24-15 that would consolidate two existing lots between Girard Place and Clinton Place into a five-story building with 40 apartments and 24 parking spaces.

A separate application to redevelop 460 Clinton Avenue could deliver an eight-story mixed-use building with 38 apartments, retail space, and 8 parking spaces. Much of this activity traces back to Newark's 10-year master plan, Newark360, which proposed upzoning corridors like Clinton Avenue for taller buildings and ground-floor commercial uses; final approval by the City Council was still required, according to Patch.

Affordability Rules and a Wary Housing Market

Any residential project of 15 or more units in Newark is subject to the city's Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, which mandates that 20% of apartments be set aside as affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households, per the Rutgers Center on Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity's research summarized by the Rutgers CLiME. Newly created affordable units give priority to current Newark residents through a municipal lottery system.

Patch reported that almost half of Newark real-estate sales involved institutional buyers. Upper Clinton Hill has a median household income of $47,200.

Investment Alongside Ongoing Public Safety Concerns

The Clinton Avenue corridor is also drawing major nonprofit and municipal investment beyond the private residential projects. In August, the BRICK Education Network advanced a $51 million initiative that includes a new K-8 Gateway Academy campus, 70 units of affordable housing, and community wellness facilities, according to Chalkbeat Newark. Nearby, construction began earlier this year on the $50 million South Ward Wellness Center at 483-485 Clinton Avenue, which will house a 12,000-square-foot St. James Health clinic, a pharmacy, and a YMCA branch, per New York YIMBY.

The city council also approved the sale of six vacant municipal lots this month, including one near Clinton Avenue at 483 Leslie Street, under an ordinance requiring 30-year affordability deed restrictions on sales of up to 50% of city-owned properties. The church has said Upper Clinton Hill faces challenges with drugs and violent crime.