The NBA legend and Brick City native sat down with NJ Advance Media Tuesday after helping to launch a program aimed at helping Newarkers get union jobs and work on construction projects
NEWARK - Like a lot of dreams, Shaquille O'Neal's journey into Newark real estate began with a conversation with his mother.
More than a decade ago, the NBA great was riding his hometown returning from a family function when his mother remarked at the marked changes the city had seen.
"She said, very sadly, 'This city used to be so beautiful, I wish somebody would come back and fix it up,'' he said in an interview Tuesday. "And I knew she was talking about me."
Now four years removed from a legendary career on the hardwood, O'Neal has refashioned himself into a TV personality and launched a series of real estate ventures in Newark, Atlantic City, Orlando and his adopted home of Atlanta, Ga.
MORE: Shaq helps launch program to help Newarkers find construction project work
O'Neal's holdings in Newark started small - he bought a number of small houses, refurbished them and flipped them for market value - but in recent years he has aimed much higher, helping to bring the city its first movie theatre in decades, and backing plans for "One Riverview" - the first downtown high-rise apartment tower in half a century.
"The first thing we started doing was asking the city to tear down these projects, and start giving them some Applebee's, you know, let's start giving them some mixed-use development. Let's give them places where they can feel good about themselves," he said.
The 43-year-old won't call himself a "real estate mogul". He credits much of the work behind his New Jersey work to Boraie Development, the New Brunswick-based developer that does the nitty gritty work like scouting sites, securing permits and overseeing the construction process.
"I wish I could take that title. You know what I realized in sports, if you have the correct teammates around you, you can do anything," he said.
Asked about rising concerns about gentrification and potential displacement of longtime residents amid a boom of development in downtown Newark, both O'Neal and his partners said they intended to keep their ventures accessible to people who already call the city home.
"We're looking at a lot of stuff. Newark has record of building good quality affordable housing," said Boraie Vice President Waseem Boraie. "You need something to turn the tide. (One Riverview) is 100% market rate to prove a point - that Newark can handle market rate."
O'Neal appears to be on the same page. On Tuesday, he helped Mayor Ras Baraka launch a program to assist minority and female Newarkers with obtaining coveted union jobs on local construction projects. During a press conference, he doubled down by promising to buy up part of the top floor of the tower for his own - where he can look down at his birthplace to watch dreams of a new era take shape.
"I didn't do this to make $500 million dollars. I'm doing this because I believe in the city," he said. "I just want my mother to come back here and just smile."
Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.