Local entrepreneur and developer Adenah Bayoh is once again redefining community-focused real estate in Newark. Her latest housing development, Southside View in the South Ward, is setting a new benchmark for digital equity by guaranteeing every resident 15 years of free, high-speed internet access.
This long-term connectivity is made possible through a new public-private partnership involving Bayoh, Citizens Bank, and Newark Fiber. The initiative removes a critical barrier to opportunity, ensuring that every household at Southside View has direct, reliable internet access for education, health care, and economic mobility.
Development beyond “bricks and mortar”
For Bayoh, a refugee from Liberia’s civil war who has built a business empire that includes four IHOP franchises and the local soul food brand Cornbread, development is fundamentally about building opportunity.
“For me, building housing has never just been about bricks and mortar — it’s about dignity, opportunity, and creating pathways for families to thrive,” Bayoh said, who is also a Newark Alliance board member. “Access to the internet is no longer a luxury; it’s a lifeline… Through this partnership with Citizens and Newark Fiber, we are ensuring that every resident of Southside View is not left behind in the digital age. This project is about equity, it’s about hope, and it’s about rewriting what’s possible for Newark families.”
The free internet is a result of Citizens Bank’s $13 million investment in the Southside View project. This includes a dedicated $500,000 portion that covered the installation of a future-ready broadband system and the long-term funding for the internet service itself.
Beyond connectivity, this investment secures two other key amenities that enhance the quality of life for families:
- The establishment of an on-site technology center.
- Three years of after-school STEAM programming for school-age residents.
The internet service is being provided by Newark Fiber, the public-private partnership operated by Invest Newark, the city’s economic development agency, which is dedicated to closing the digital divide that disproportionately affects lower-income households.
Aaron Meyerson, Chief Innovation Economy Officer and Director of Broadband at Invest Newark and the Newark Alliance, called the commitment “groundbreaking.”
“The enhanced connectivity that Citizens and Adenah Bayoh have committed to is a testament to what equitable development can achieve when we work together,” Meyerson stated.
The Southside View project continues Bayoh’s mission of combining high-quality real estate development—like her other Newark projects, 280 Park Place and 722 Chancellor Avenue—with dedicated social investment, setting a new standard for lasting opportunity and equity in the city.
