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Developer and council debate three‑family market‑rate sale in West Ward; council asks for revised price
Summary
A proposal to sell a lot for construction of a new three‑family home drew community testimony from the developer and council concern over assessed value; council agreed to return the item to administration for reconsideration of the price point.
The Newark Municipal Council heard public remarks from the prospective developer of a proposed three‑family rental home in the West Ward and then debated whether to move forward with the property sale at the price in the resolution.
Deputy Mayor and Director of Economic and Housing Development Allison Ladd described the project as a new three‑family building to be rented at market rate and said the city is providing the land purchase to support the developer’s capital stack. Ladd said three proposals were received for the parcel and that the purchaser selected had prior real‑estate activity in Newark. On the assessed value, Ladd explained that the property had been assessed as land only and that the valuation reflected that condition.
Developer Natasha Akinyele, who identified herself as a native of Newark and a local resident, told the council she has pursued the lot for more than three years and presented the project as an effort to remove blight and provide housing. “I decided…to build a structure and to allow, of course, low income citizens to have space, a loving, clean, respectful space,” Akinyele said, and added she guaranteed that at least one unit would be available for low‑income programs such as Section 8 in practice though the resolution language lists market rate for the units.
Council debate focused on assessed value and price. Councilmember Quintana moved to return the item to the administration for reconsideration of the price point; the motion was seconded. The transcript records the motion to return the item to the administration and then moves on to the next agenda item, indicating the council sent the measure back for further work rather than adopting the sale at this meeting.
Ending: The council returned the item to the administration for a revised price point; the developer and deputy mayor provided background and stated the administration selected the purchaser from several proposals. The council asked the administration to come back with clarified pricing and documentation on assessed value before another vote.
