Ironbound Resilience Hub Project at Ann Street School
PARA LEER EN ESPAÑOL, UTILICE LA HERRAMIENTA DE TRADUCCIÓN EN LA ESQUINA SUPERIOR DERECHA DE LA PÁGINA WEB.PARA LER EM PORTUGUÊS, UTILIZE A FERRAMENTA DE TRADUÇÃO NO CANTO SUPERIOR DIREITO DA PÁGINA.Upcoming Community Meeting: We want to hear from you about this project!
Date & Time: Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Location: Van Buren Public Library, 140 Van Buren Street, Newark, NJ 07105
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Project Name: Ironbound Resilience Hub Project at Ann Street School
Project Duration: 2025 - Ongoing
Consultant: Michael Baker International
Location: Ann Street School, Newark, NJ
Project Summary: The new Ironbound Resilience Hub at Ann Street School in Newark, NJ will make the area more resilient to flooding, enhance stormwater drainage, and minimize instances of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) after large rain events.
The Ironbound neighborhood is a dense, urban heat island area and sits at a natural topographic depression where stormwater accumulates, making many parts of the neighborhood subject to repetitive flooding. In 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida brought a record-breaking amount of rainfall to the city, resulting in flooding, CSOs, damage to homes, and vehicles abandoned to rising floodwaters.
This project will help address these stormwater management concerns by establishing the Ironbound Resilience Hub at Ann Street School. A “resilience hub” is a community space that provides direct hazard mitigation benefits and resources before, during, and after climate disruptions, such as flooding and heat waves.
The schematic design for the Ironbound Resilience Hub includes:
• Stormwater management system: To address stormwater flooding, the project proposes using the large parking lot at Ann Street School for subsurface stormwater storage. An interconnected porous pavement system in Elm Road adjacent to the school will allow stormwater to infiltrate into the soil and to flow into the subsurface stormwater storage within the parking lot. The proposed design will provide an estimated 92,000 cubic feet of flood storage.
• Energy improvements: Evaluating heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades for Ann Street School, contributing to its ability to serve as a cooling center.
• Power resilience (next phase): Complementing a planned solar array in the school’s parking lot, the project proposes installing battery storage and electrical improvements at the school to allow for islanding, enabling the solar array to serve as back-up power during an outage.
*The City of Newark Department of Water & Sewer Utilities is the primary entity leading the project. Other key partners include the Newark Office of Sustainability, the Newark Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and Newark Public Schools.
Project area (marked in blue) proposed for design.
Courtesy of Michael Baker International and the City of Newark.