NJPAC’SCHAMBERS
PLAZAREOPENS
Media Contact:
Angela Thomas, 201.503.1333, AThomas@njpac.org
NJPAC’S CHAMBERS PLAZA REOPENS, ESSEX COUNTY GREEN UNVEILED
The first piece of the Arts Center’s ongoing $336 million redevelopment of its 12-acre campus is now complete, offering Newark a new space for concerts, markets and more in summer 2025
Newark Poet Laureate Mia X and schoolchildren from Newark’s First Avenue School and East Orange’s Cicely Tyson High School perform at reopening celebration
May 14, 2025 – Newark, NJ – After a year of construction, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) today reopened its redesigned and reimagined “front yard,” Chambers Plaza.
The Arts Center also introduced a new piece of its campus: Essex County Green, a grassy lawn edged with permanent seating structures, created with the support of Essex County, led by Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo.
These two sites, which wrap around the Arts Center’s front doors and continue along Center Street to its intersection with Mulberry Street, are the first completed segments of NJPAC’s ongoing $336 million campus-wide reconstruction project.
“The new Chambers Plaza is another bright spot in our city’s vibrant downtown arts and education district, one where our community can come together all year long,” said Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “Facilities like this, that give us all a place to come together, that bring more events and performances to everyone, and that offer anyone in downtown a spot to linger outdoors, are what make Newark such a wonderful city to work, live and play in.”
“We are proud to partner with John Schreiber and NJPAC to create Essex County Green and to reimagine Chambers Plaza,” said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo.
“For decades, NJPAC has been an anchor in Newark’s downtown and an engine that has stimulated economic development and job creation. The greening of their campus adds much-needed open space and creates a vibrant gathering place that will bring the energy of the concert hall outside.“
“NJPAC has always served as a place where the community can gather, and I’m so pleased that Chambers Plaza, the gateway to the Arts Center’s campus, is now more welcoming than ever,” said Ray Chambers, the Newark-born philanthropist and one of the Arts Center’s founding visionaries, for whom the Plaza is named.
“Our family hopes that the renovations in the Plaza will make it a wonderful space for all to enjoy.”
Students from Newark’s First Avenue Elementary School and East Orange’s Cicely L. Tyson Community School of Performing and Fine Arts performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the reopening ceremony; the schoolchildren learned to perform the famous hymn, written in Newark by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson 125 years ago, at in-school residencies with Arts Center teaching artists. Newark’s first Poet Laureate, Mia X concluded the ceremony with a reading.
The redesigned Chambers Plaza and the new Essex County Green create a larger level area where audiences at outdoor concerts can congregate. The Plaza is floored in gray and merlot-red brick, which contrasts with the traditional red brick facades of NJPAC’s theaters. An elevated wooden deck in the center of the Plaza will serve as a stage for outdoor performances and conversations. Four “totems” rise from the Plaza, on which new lighting and audio equipment have been installed, facilitating outdoor performances.
New seating and umbrellas dot the space, offering spots to rest, snack, socialize and people-watch. The chairs and seating platforms (in NJPAC’s signature yellow) are movable, allowing the space to be used for picnics at lunchtime and dancing in the evening.
The renovations also included the installation of resilient new landscaping, designed by landscape architects Future Green, adding trees and other greenery to the Plaza. Red maple trees outline the space, with honey locust trees along the eastern edge, to provide shade for farmers’ markets and other gatherings. A rain garden adjacent to the Plaza’s “dance floor” was designed to collect and conserve stormwater before it floods streets. Some 85% of the new plantings are native to the area; the exception is a cluster of cherry trees, a nod to the famous blossoming trees of Newark’s Branch Brook Park.
The redevelopment of the Arts Center’s 12-acre campus, supported by individual and corporate donors, the City of Newark, the State of New Jersey and an unprecedented $200 million tax credit award from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Transformative Aspire program, broke ground in September 2024.
The Arts Center’s beloved Horizon Sounds of the City summer outdoor concert series (which continued throughout the construction process last year) will be one of the first large public events held in the new space. The series has scheduled an early start this year to coincide with the Prudential North to Shore Festival. WBGO deejay Felix Hernandez will open the concert series in the Plaza at 5 PM on June 27 with his famous Rhythm Revue Dance Party.
“The re-architected Chambers Plaza, and the new Essex County Green, will be the nucleus of the new, arts-infused neighborhood we’re now building around our theaters,” said John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC.
“I’m excited for our community to begin to explore our evolving campus, and for this space to begin hosting concerts, markets, dance parties and more this summer.”
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About NJPAC
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is the most diverse performing arts center in the country, and the anchor cultural institution for both the city of Newark and the state of New Jersey. It is an artistic, cultural, educational and civic center where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the state’s and the world’s best artists, while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC Arts & Well-Being develops initiatives and programs that amplify the health benefits of the arts and measure the impact of the Arts Center on community health and well-being. NJPAC has attracted more than 12 million visitors (including more than two million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents. Visit njpac.org for more information.