Edison Properties Tuesday began construction at Ironside Newark, the transformation of a historic downtown warehouse into a state-of-the-art commercial and retail property.

The Perkins Eastman-designed building will include 456K SF of modern loft-style and penthouse offices on the upper six floors with access to a green rooftop, while retail and restaurant space will make up the two lower floors and front the recently announced Mulberry Commons park.

The building is at the corner of Edison Place and McCarter Highway and provides easy access to Newark's mass transit.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's Timothy Greiner, Frank Recine, Jamie Ragucci, Harrison Russell and Andrew Sachs are charged with leasing Ironside Newark's office space, while JLL's Marta Person Villa will lease the retail space.

Hollister Construction Services is the construction manager for the project, which is expected to take 18 months. Opening is tentatively scheduled for fall 2018.