CetraRuddy to Reimagine Newark’s Ralph Thomas Walker Landmark 540 Broad Street

Global architecture and design firm CetraRuddy will serve as lead architect and designer for the adaptive reuse of Ralph Thomas Walker’s 1929 Art Deco building in downtown Newark. One of the largest conversion projects in Newark today, the 436,00 square-foot brick and sandstone tower will encompass 60,000 square feet of office and retail space, along with 260 residential units, including affordable housing. Verizon currently has a regional headquarters in the building, and will remain a tenant.

Originally designed for the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, 540 Broad Street boasts an exterior and lobby included in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The only firm to have converted more than one of Walker’s buildings, CetraRuddy previously adapted two: Walker Tower and Stella Tower, both in New York City.

“We have developed a deep understanding of Walker’s design intent, framed by his humanistic approach,” says founding principal John Cetra. “Each building has its own configuration within its context that allow us to approach each project with a fresh design perspective. For 540 Broad, working within the historic context, from the exterior to the lobby, elevator banks to the corridors, our goal is to preserve the celebrated design features and overall character that signify his building, while modernizing it to suit the needs of contemporary city living.”

Inglese Architecture + Engineering will join the project as executive architect, and engineering firm Rodkin Cardinale will adapt the MEP systems. The project was commissioned by the developer, 540 Broad Street Owners LLC, along with L+M Development Partners and Prudential Financial, Inc.