Newark City Council last week gave a developer the go-ahead to build rental townhouses on Corbit Street.
Developer Mico Slijepcevic is planning to demolish two rental houses at 50 and 54 Corbit Street that are nearly 100 years old and replace them with five three-story townhouses. Each unit will have four bedrooms.
A parking lot in the back will have space for 15 cars.
Corbit Street was once part of Newark’s thriving Black community, but in recent years the area has been nearly completely taken over by student housing. The project site backs up to the large Campus Walk complex.
Slijepcevic argued that the project site is on the edge of the student neighborhood and could be attractive to non-student renters. He noted that in the two houses being demolished, he has had a mix of tenants including undergraduate students, graduate students and families.
“I can see this area of Newark becoming a vibrant community again, like it used to be,” he said.
He said he is using an “understated” design in an attempt to keep costs down.
“We're going to do our best to make them as affordable as possible,” Slijepcevic said. “They will clearly be more affordable than some of the properties like on Benny Street, where you're talking six-bedroom apartments and where there's a huge student demand.”
He also plans to install a historical marker at the site to commemorate the history of the Corbit Street community.
Slijepcevic asked council to rezone the property to multi-family residential, amend the comprehensive plan to high density residential and approve a site plan that provides relief from numerous code requirements, including lot coverage, lot size, setback and open area.
In April, the planning commission declined to recommend the project, raising concerns about the amount of code relief requested.
City council members disagreed, saying that the code relief brings the project in line with similar development and applies best practices favored by the city, such as reducing large backyards where parties can be held.
“This type of design controls partying to a minimum, and where it is happening, it's happening in a visible area so that if there are concerns, they can be addressed more readily,” Councilman Jason Lawhorn said. “As opposed to other areas, where we hear stories of them screening off areas and having parties and that type of behavior. So I think this design works well.”
Councilwoman Corinth Ford said she likes that the townhouses are smaller than many others built in student areas. That makes them potentially attractive to a family.
“This is actually a nice project, and it will improve the area,” Ford said.
Councilman John Suchanec noted that he and his wife lived on Corbit Street when they were first married.
“It was truly a neighborhood, and I'm sorry to see that part of Newark disappear slowly but surely,” Suchanec said.
He encouraged Slijepcevic to do what he can to make the townhouses affordable enough to bring families back to the area.
“There's a huge need,” he said. “I think that anything that specifically targets students is starting to wane. I think we've done enough with that, and I would like to see us really address the other part of the population that needs housing.”
Council approved the project unanimously.
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