Audible Tries To Lure More Companies To Newark With $1M Program

NEWARK, NJ — There are already plenty of reasons for a business to choose Newark as its home ground: its transportation infrastructure, its broadband internet system, or a labor pool that includes some of the most skilled workers and brightest minds in New Jersey – among many other attractions.

Now there’s yet another reason for businesses to call the state’s most-populated city home, one of its largest private companies announced Tuesday.

Audiobook and podcast company Audible said it’s putting nearly $1 million into a new program which supports companies that want to move to Newark, providing them with relocation assistance and capital toward office space.

Audible is also offering stipends for employees to “live and shop locally” through an extension of its Live Local Program, including a $500 per month after-tax rent subsidy for employees who choose to live in Newark.

Companies with founders of color or female founders are particularly encouraged to apply for the new program, Audible said.

Here’s what to know, the company said:

“Audible’s business attraction efforts target startups with at least 10 employees, at the seed or Series A stage, and which are looking to expand or relocate to Newark. The program aims to leverage Newark’s unmatched data infrastructure, boost local spending to preserve and create jobs, address high retail and commercial vacancy rates, and accelerate the growth of the city’s innovation ecosystem. The business attraction efforts will also facilitate leasing opportunities at buildings in Newark’s Harriet Tubman Square, such as 33 Washington Street, 550 Broad Street, 494 Broad Street, 540 Broad Street and 536 Broad Street.”

Audible’s efforts to attract new businesses and tenants to downtown Newark include collaborating with community stakeholders to transform “iconic spaces” – such as 33 Washington Street – into hubs for local businesses, the company said.

For example, small businesses and retailers at 33 Washington will sublease from Audible and be eligible for its new business support offerings, such as stipends for rent and mentorship. Nina Cooke John, the architect and artist behind the new Harriet Tubman monument in Tubman Square, will also lead the building’s redesign into a mixed-use space that is engaging for anyone who lives, works or studies in the Tubman Square neighborhood.

• See Related: Goodbye Columbus, Hello Tubman; Statue Marks New Age In Newark

Audible noted that 550 Broad Street will also be home to Melba’s 550, a second location of the revered comfort food destination Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem.

• See Related: Renowned Restaurateur Melba Wilson To Open New Spot In Newark

Six companies in the tech innovation, hospitality, and entertainment sectors have already joined the program and will be expanding or arriving in Newark, Audible said. The Newark Culture Club is opening at 12 Halsey Street, and Harlem’s BLVD Bistro will open a second location in the mixed-use space at 33 Washington Street.

Meanwhile, four new tech startups have leased office space in 550 Broad Street. According to Audible:

• ABF Creative is a multicultural kids and family podcast network and production company, founded by Newark native Anthony Frasier, that joins Audible in the audio and podcast industry. ABF Creative leverages its unique production framework to deliver award-winning IP that builds emotional and cultural connections through loveable characters and compelling narrative storytelling.
• Gymble (pronounced gym-bull) is a fitness app, founded by three athletes from Charlotte, NC, that connects communities to facility rentals, personal training and fitness experiences. The all-in-one platform helps fitness facilities and entrepreneurs market to their customers and manage their bookings more effectively.
• co:census is a collaborative, cloud-based workspace for urban planning and design teams to learn, plan, create, analyze, and work together as they conduct research projects and community engagement. The company’s enterprise solution is used by Ford Mobility, MIG, and Habitat for Humanity’s teams to plan community engagement, create projects to collect feedback and analyze text and voice data with their patent-pending AI.
• Fitnescity is a consumer health startup that gives consumers easy access to wellness tests, along with personal analytics, while allowing local clinics to reach more consumers. Designed to make health and wellness testing convenient and accessible, Fitnescity partners with local clinics, labs and leading healthcare providers across the country to provide wellness tests. It also enables consumers to track their wellness goals and outcomes over time with a user-friendly personal analytics platform that can not only make test results easier to understand, but also, in the long term, develop predictive models to inform wellness decisions.

Laila Zemrani, co-founder and CEO of Fitnescity, said the company “loved the idea” of basing its operations in Newark.

“Audible’s support will help us accelerate our growth with state-of-the-art offices in a city with a fast-growing tech sector, talent from world-class universities, and easy access to major hubs and airports,” Zemrani said.

Audible’s new program is also attracting attention from the entertainment industry. For example, Newark Culture Club will establish a 2,500 square feet cocktail bar and live entertainment venue, owned by an investment group of majority Newark residents and minorities, led by comedian Justin Williams, host of Fraudsters podcast.

“This innovative pilot program is another scalable model that can be adopted by other companies seeking to make an impact in the cities they call home,” Audible founder Don Katz said.

Since moving its headquarters to Newark in 2007, the company – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon – has rolled out a series of community outreach campaigns in the city. They include the launch of Newark Venture Partners in 2015, the establishment of the Global Center for Urban Development in 2020 and NWK Delivers, which have generated close to $1 billion in economic output, spokespeople said.

• See Related: Audible Will Give 400 Newark Residents $75 Per Week – For Free
• See Related: Audible Expands Social Justice Efforts In Newark With New Center
• See Related: Newark Mayor Launches New Memoir With Audible (Video)

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