Shaq opens $80M apartment tower with NYC views in N.J.

Boasting of uninterrupted views across the river to New York City, one of Newark’s latest residential towers — developed with NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal — celebrated its official ribbon cutting on Wednesday.

The long-awaited “Shaq Tower” opened its doors in Newark this summer and is about 60% leased, developer Wasseem Boraie said.

“It’s been a long journey and it’s one of those things that if you really aren’t committed you never would have done what we did,” Boraie told NJ Advance Media. “You gotta believe in your product, in your city and in your public partners and the private partners that are there with you. Development is not a sole practitioner sport, it’s absolutely a team sport.”

Rising at 22 stories, Boraie developed the $80 million residential building with O’Neal, who grew up in the Central Ward and still visits the city once or twice a month.

Officially called 50 Rector Park, the building is complete with a gym, amenities room and rooftop cabanas and grills for residents at its 168 units.

“It’s going to go down as the most historic building in Newark,” O’Neal previously told NJ Advance Media. “Second of all, it’s going to continue to beautify our city.”

O’Neal has a unit on a penthouse floor, Boraie said.

Leases range from $1,800 for a studio, $1,950 for a one-bedroom and $2,700 for a two-bedroom. Parking is available in the building’s 120-car garage for an additional $150 a month.

“People love it,” Boraie said. “We’re getting a wide population of people from New York, Brooklyn, Jersey City.”

Boraie Development is also working on a 370-unit building on 777 McCarter Highway. The building will include 20% low- and moderate-income units. Construction will begin late next year.

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Originally published at https://www.nj.com on November 13, 2019.