As the city of Hackensack, N.J., awaits final approval of its comprehensive rehabilitation plan, DMR Architects is progressing with other revitalization efforts within the downtown footprint. The firm is working with the city of Hackensack, N.J., to redevelop a specific area within the 163 acres in need of rehabilitation, the former Masonic Temple.
Constructed in 1870, the Masonic Temple was previously vacant, for sale, and in arrears. In 2010, Hackensack purchased the building and hired DMR to complete Phase 1 plans to convert the building into a cultural and performing arts center, and convert the adjacent parking lot into a public park with outdoor performance space to benefit the surrounding commercial and office spaces. The building is nearing completion of Phase 1 and will open as a cultural arts center. Phase 2 will see renovations of the second floor into a performing arts center
When conversion of the adjacent parking lot is completed, the park will provide performance areas for spring and summer concerts, shaded outdoor space for lunch hours, an intimate garden, and outdoor chess tables.
“DMR is proud of our work in Hackensack, and we look forward to revitalizing the city into a vibrant center for thousands of residents, employees, and visitors,” said Lloyd A. Rosenberg, AIA, president and CEO of DMR Architects. “The Cultural and Performing Arts Center and Atlantic Street Park will support surrounding businesses and act as a catalyst of revitalization for the downtown area.”
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The story of the Fox Oakland Theater is like that of so many movie palaces of the early 20th century. Built in 1928 based on a Middle Eastern-influenced design by architect Charles Peter Weeks and engineer William Peyton Day, the 3,400-seat cinema flourished until the mid-1960s, when the trend toward smaller multiplex theaters took its toll on the Fox Oakland.
