Boles & May of Progress Capital arrange $54.5 million construction financing for Newark School of Architect & Interior Design

Newark, NJ David May and Evan Boles of Progress Capital secured $54.5 million in construction financing for the owners of a 179,100 s/f educational facility located at 155 Jefferson St.

The property is the former site of the boarded-up St. James Hospital, which sat as a vacant eye sore for the past 15 years. The sponsors will be completing a full-gut renovation to the existing structure, plus an addition to the structure which will feature the newly built School of Architecture and Interior Design, another career-focused high school added to the Newark Public Schools roster. The specialized school will provide courses in architecture, computer-aided design, and construction technology, as well as allow students to opt for the school’s traditional trade programs including plumbing, electrical, and HVAC.  

Situated in the Ironbound district of Newark, which is surrounded by four academic institutions including Rutgers University (Newark Campus), the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), the New Jersey Medical School (Rutgers), and Essex County College which are all in walking distance to the building. The location is off of Elm St. and Lafayette St., which is a half mile walk to Penn Station and all the commercial shops and restaurants of downtown Newark.