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A 19th-century factory complex, where the world’s largest cotton thread company was headquartered until 1935, will become East Newark’s new town center when renovations are complete. Scaffolding and cranes mark the beginning of the restoration of the Clark Thread Company Historic District, built along the banks of the Passaic River in 1875. Two buildings in the courtyard are being demolished before work begins on the facade, Kevin Catrambone, special projects manager for East Newark, told Jersey Digs. The project, which is now called the East Newark Town Center, will offer more than 600 residences and 100,000 square feet of retail. The borough is counting on all this increased foot traffic to transform Central Avenue into a proper downtown corridor, Catrambone said. “We believe it will help transform and reshape our community as a whole,” Catrambone said. “This is only the beginning — more development is on the way.” The thread company, founded by two Scottish brothers George and William Clark, employed 1,000 people and spanned both sides of the river in the 1890s. By the time both brothers had died, the company merged with a competitor to form the world’s largest thread company. However, in 1935, the company moved south to cut operation costs. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. A number of interesting period details still exist among the buildings. For example, a pulley-activated alarm that once alerted the night watchmen in the towers can be found on one of the buildings. On Grant Avenue, a factory building features a ghost sign with the initials “O.N.T.” which stands for the Clark company’s moniker “Our New Thread.” And along the north border of the complex are abandoned train tracks of the defunct Newark Branch of the Erie Railroad. For those wishing to delve deeper into the history of the factory, the company’s co-owner, William Clark, lived across the river in Newark’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Clarke’s Gilded Age mansion at 346 Mount Prospect Avenue still exists and is used as the North Ward Center community house. It is one of the few buildings in Newark that belongs to Scottish immigrants.

The Journal Square construction boom has ramped up amid warmer temperatures as two sky-high developments have risen to prominence and the initial portion of a new pedestrian-only street has opened to the public. Long Island-based Namdar Group has bet big on Jersey City in recent years. We broke the news two years ago about an ambitious six tower plan for various properties the company owns along Pavonia Avenue, Cottage Street, and Van Reipen Avenue. All of the company’s Jersey City developments have thus far been designed by C3D Architecture and the first building at 26 Cottage Street is now complete. Branded as cmpnd, the 20-story development sports a Clo Coffee Company outpost on the ground floor and fronts the first stretch of what will become the Homestead Place Pedestrian Plaza. The completed section of the plaza is the northernmost portion, and a temporary dog run has been built along the block. Namdar Group has two other developments nearby under construction that will see the extension of the plaza to Pavonia Avenue, just across the street from Journal Square’s PATH station. The first tower, at 26 Van Reipen Avenue, is rising 26 stories and will include 235 units plus retail space on the first and second floors. A second 376-unit high-rise at 618 Pavonia Avenue is topped out at 27 stories and will include 5,500-square feet of street-level retail plus large office spaces on the second, third and fourth floors. Both towers will be sporting a sleek glass-heavy look, with 618 Pavonia’s façade already about two-thirds installed. The two buildings combined will be adding 611 apartments to a block that is hoping to become a shopping and dining destination for the neighborhood. The next portion of Namdar Group’s effort looks to rise at 35 Cottage Street, currently home to the Congregation Sons of Israel synagogue. The new 576-unit tower would include space for the temple and connect the completed section of Homestead Plaza to the portion currently under construction. Namdar Group has submitted an application for the 35 Cottage Street property to Jersey City’s planning board, but a hearing date for the proposal has yet to emerge.