For Valentine's Day, Newark offers cheap land to couples (and only couples)
Newark may not be the most romantic city in the world, but a Valentine's Day gambit by the city certainly aims to tug at the heart strings.
For three hours on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern, couples — and only couples; no singles need apply — will have a chance to purchase one of 100 city lots for just $1,000. (Click here or on an image to see a sampling in our slideshow.)
“For young families trying to find a place to put down roots, we want to give this place as an option,” the deputy mayor for economic development, Baye Adofo-Wilson, told the Wall Street Journal.
You might be wondering, as we did: Is this legal?
Apparently so: Although the city clearly hopes for romantically involved couples ("straight or LGBT," it hastens to say), the offer is technically open to any two people — relatives, friends, etc. A spokesperson told the New York real estate site Brick Underground that two parties' names must appear on the contract of sale, but no other verification of a relationship will be required.
And of course city lawyers scrutinized the plan in advance, Adofo-Wilson told the Journal. He came up with the idea.
Other terms of the offer:
• You don't have to live in Newark, or even New Jersey, before you buy — but you do have to finish building a home on the property within 18 months of closing, and you have to live in it for five years after the certificate of occupancy is issued.
• Lots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at City Hall, 920 Broad St., Newark, New Jersey, starting at 9 a.m. ET on Valentine's Day. One per couple.
• No developers or investors are allowed. "The sale is exclusively for couples who are looking to live in Newark," the city says.
Said one potential buyer, Newark resident Karissa Brand: “I know people have biases about Newark. But these lots are usually $20,000. For $1,000, it’s a steal.”
A map and list of the available addresses follows, sorted by location (west and south first, followed by north, east and central) — or you can find a sortable version on Newark's website with details on size, block number, lot number and ward. Most of the lots are 25 feet by 100 feet, and nearly all of them are in the South Ward or the West Ward.
162 Fairmount Avenue
200 Twelfth Avenue
103 Alexander Street
376 So. Tenth Street
573 So. Nineteenth Street
319 So. Eighteenth Street
585 So. Nineteenth Street
111 So. Ninth Street
51 Gray Street
113 So. Ninth Street
238 No. Eleventh Street
52 No. Thirteenth Street
412 So. Eleventh Street
131 Alexander Street
48 No. Thirteenth Street
543 Thirteenth Avenue
33 No. Munn Avenue
31 No. Munn Avenue
53 Fifth Street
483 Seventh Avenue W.
496 So. Seventeenth Street
312 So. Twentieth Street
165 No. Ninth Street
215 Fairmount Avenue
112 So. Thirteenth Street
108-110 So. Thirteenth Street
290 So. Nineteenth Street
67-69 Norwood Street
288 So. Ninth Street
442 Fourth Avenue
38 Palm Street
140 Palm Street
155 Ridgewood Avenue
36 Shaw Avenue
549 Eighteenth Avenue
159 Ridgewood Avenue
84 W. Alpine Street
161 Ridgewood Avenue
628 So. Twelfth Street
777 So. Thirteenth Street
599 Hunterdon Street
93 Nineteenth Avenue
601 Hunterdon Street
147 Johnson Avenue
276-278 Renner Avenue
605 Hunterdon Street
144 Leslie Street
811 So. Sixteenth Street
131 Hedden Terrace
439 Badger Avenue
665 So. Fifteenth Street
797 So. Fifteenth Street
41 Pierce Street
183 Jelliff Avenue
218 Hawthorne Avenue
438 Peshine Avenue
216 Hawthorne Avenue
189 Jelliff Avenue
648 So. Thirteenth Street
646 So. Thirteenth Street
206 Hawthorne Avenue
644 So. Thirteenth Street
686 So. Sixteenth Street
204 Hawthorne Avenue
642 So. Thirteenth Street
142 Ridgewood Avenue
140 Ridgewood Avenue
792 So. Eighteenth Street
174 Scheerer Avenue
80 Willoughby Street
810 So. Seventeenth Street
204 Peshine Avenue
806 So. Seventeenth Street
716 So. Tenth Street
435 Jelliff Avenue
437 Jelliff Avenue
100 Milford Avenue
98 Milford Avenue
171-173 Shephard Avenue
248-250 Garside Street
382 Summer Avenue
90 Wright Street
79-81 Garside Street
473 Fifteenth Avenue
471 Fifteenth Avenue
377 So. Ninth Street
481 Fifteenth Avenue
379 So. Ninth Street
479 Fifteenth Avenue
477 Fifteenth Avenue
455 So. Twelfth Street
213 Fourth Street
577 So. Twelfth Street
198 Hunterdon Street
404 So. Eighth Street
175 No. Seventh Street
198 Third Street
572 So. Thirteenth Street
162 So. Eighth Street
71 No. Fourteenth Street
