NEWARK, NJ - The dilapidated Coe Mansion in the city’s Central Ward may finally be reborn now that the Newark Planning Board granted final site plan approval for a redevelopment plan earlier this week.
The plan calls for transforming the abandoned historic brick mansion at 698-700 Martin Luther King Blvd into a three-floor apartment building with 15 residential units.
The Coe Mansion originally known as the Glencoe Mansion has a history stretching back to 1871, when it was constructed for a wealthy local leather merchant. In 1886, the residence was purchased by the Coe family, another wealthy merchant, and remained in the family until 1947. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The landmark also served as the home of Cory Booker, the former Newark mayor and current Senator and Democratic candidate for president, who rented a room in the building.
Coe Mansion was eventually abandoned and boarded up. It is the latest property caught up in the wave of the city’s redevelopment.
The board’s Sept. 9 approval follows the site plan also being approved by the city’s Landmark and Historic Preservation Commission. While the property will be fundamentally altered through its conversion into an apartment complex and complete internal modernization will take place, the exterior must stay true to its historic character of the property.
