Inner-city neighborhoods may soon have a new role model when searching for ways to address blighted properties and absentee landlords. Newark is setting an example in the West Ward neighborhood as it tackles abandoned buildings and vacant lots with its West Ward Vacant and Abandoned Property Pilot Program.

The program, aimed particularly at landlords who have abandoned their buildings

or have failed to implement needed rehabilitations, will transform 102 parcels of land into new housing for the community. It comes at the heels of the city’s recently-adopted Abandoned Property Ordinance, which is based on state legislation that gives municipalities more power over abandoned land and distressed property.

“The beauty of the legislation is that if property owners don’t make repairs, the city has the power to do something. We very much want to see and encourage property owners to do the right thing and repair their properties, but if they fail to do so, we will step in,” said Director of Housing for the City of Newark Michael Meyer.

“The idea is to send a signal to owners of blighted property that the community will not tolerate blight unattended, and to send a signal to property owners who are investing that they are supported,” added Stefan Pryor, deputy mayor of Economic Development for the City of Newark.

Almost all members of the project team are local-area companies and contractors, which ensures that the community is involved-one of the city’s primary goals. Thirteen developers are on board for the project, headed by lead developer The George Group. A number of community groups are also involved, including the Urban League of Essex County, Habitat for Humanity, Macedonia Ministries, AEG Inc., and the Greater Newark Housing Partnership. ULEC was chosen from a number of proposals to develop the master community plan for the redevelopment.

The large number of parties involved makes this revitalization effort a truly collaborative undertaking. This brings a wealth of benefits to the table in the planning process, according to Pryor.

“It is important that we include residents of Newark in the revitalization of Newark-having a diverse set of developers participate ensures that. The firms are of varying sizes and levels of experience, so this project is an opportunity for some to gain in capacity and for others to exercise potential that they already have,” said Pryor. “And by having a large number of firms participate we enable a larger amount of work to get done, simply because the amount of activity occurring can be at a higher level.”

The redevelopment will have a trickle effect in the West Ward neighborhood, creating an offshoot of positive activity within the community such as jobs, job-training, and social services-benefits that extend beyond the new housing, Meyer explained.

“The biggest benefit of this plan is that it sends a signal that the city believes in this neighborhood and believes in the capability of neighborhoods throughout the city to revitalize from within, to find the resources to bring about positive change,” added Pryor.

As the planning process-which is still in its early stages-evolves, design standards for the area will be developed, methods for selecting residents and homeowners will be identified, and types of housing will be chosen. The city hopes to begin work within the next two years.

Construction on the addition to New York Law School’s main campus is currently on schedule.

The 235,000-sq-ft facilities-designed by The Smith Group, an architecture, engineering, interiors and planning firm based in Detroit-will contain classrooms, student spaces, a new law library auditorium, student cafeteria and faculty dining areas.

The project at 185 West Broadway in Manhattan also includes a 2,285 sq ft bookstore run by Barnes and Noble across the street.

To accommodate the growing campus, the new addition will be five floors, plus four floors below grade.

Construction manager Pavarini McGovern of New York is utilizing top down construction-building the first floor below grade and then moving downwards to complete the levels below.

“This is essentially a mining operation until the entire underground structure of the building is completed,” said Curt Epstein, project manager for VVA, the project managers and consultants.

A permanent slurry wall 100-ft-deep-a somewhat unique feature to downtown Manhattan-was also installed to keep water out of the structure. “The slurry wall was only ever used before in the World Trade Center site,” said Irwin Schneider, principal-in-charge at VVA. It creates a concrete panel which was then securely fastened into the existing bedrock to create a “bathtub” to prevent water penetration in the foundation.

Although “there is no way to foresee any delays on the project because of the type of construction [top down construction],” explained Jim Dergin, project superintendent of Pavarini McGovern, the team has taken the necessary steps to ensure one of the biggest challenges was conquered early on. “We wanted to avoid any seismic activity because of the close proximity to the [1, 2, 3] subway. We installed the slurry wall well below the tunnel because we wanted to avoid any excess vibration.”

“We are not applying for LEED certification because of the cost, but the building will be energy efficient and will include various sustainable materials,” explained Schneider.

The $135 million project broke ground in September 2007 and should be completed by December 2008.