Daily, there are reportedly 75,000 people moving about the Gateway Center towers heading to work, school, or to transportation in Newark Penn Station. However, there was no childcare center on the property until just this year. Marlene Mack, who has owned One Step Ahead Learning Center in East Orange, NJ for almost 28 years, saw this as her big opportunity.
In April, Mack put out her big red umbrella and cut the ribbon on One Step Ahead Learning and Performing Arts Center, for children aged two-and-a-half to five years old. “You will see the big, giant red umbrella,” says Mack of how to find her. “And there are red (open enrollment) banners hanging all over the building,” directs Mack.
One Step Ahead is in one of the newly renovated Gateway buildings that were acquired and recently renovated by Onyx Equity. The childcare center sits directly across the street from Penn Station near the newly redesigned Junction concourse that connects the buildings. Mack says her location is convenient for commuters coming and going to the bus and train, as well as the thousands of employees that work in the Gateway towers.
“It has been an extreme pleasure to be a part of the Onyx family,” says Mack. “There were no hoops to jump through. I drew the facility with a crayon initially and gave it to them. I even drew the playground area. I did it with a green marker and they turned it into a facility. The process was very, very easy because of Gateway, Gateway employees, and because of Onyx,” exclaims Mack.
In 2016, a report prepared by the Reinvestment Fund found that there is a substantial gap between the total supply of childcare and the demand for it. Across the city, the supply of childcare only meets 85.6% of the demand.
If you were ever thinking of opening a customer-oriented business, but you just didn’t know what type would be best, this is your big moment. In 2024, Invest Newark released a report that shows the supply, demand, surplus and unmet demand for goods and services in five neighborhoods across Newark. The report, titled Retail Demand on Newark’s Commercial Corridors,* shows that Newark has a combined total of more than $2 billion in unmet demand.
“We wanted to gather data on what amount of money we are missing out on as a city, either because we don’t have the retailers to meet resident demand, or because current retailers are not currently offering all the goods and services we need,” said Emily Manz, chief business development officer at Invest Newark.
Manz also indicated that there is a need to diversify retailers in certain neighborhoods because some areas are oversaturated with general merchandise stores, auto parts and tire stores.
For example, residents responded in the study that while there are several liquor stores in many areas, places to sit and leisurely have a drink–like a pub or lounge—are not readily available. A Bergen Lyons neighborhood resident responded that she recently moved to Newark and quickly realized she couldn’t shop around her neighborhood, unless it was for something quick.
Manz says that Invest Newark’s goal is to not only attract new businesses to the city but, where possible, help current retailers and businesses expand to help meet the demands that have been identified.
*Invest Newark’s research and reporting on retail demand was made possible by a grant from the Prudential Foundation.
Based on the findings of the recent Retail Demand on Newark’s Commercial Corridors Report, Newark has
Newark Needs More of This
