Each of the six new buildings is site specific and designed relative to its context. Street wall heights are regulated in accordance with the Newark Living Downtown Plan and provide a rich variety of street conditions. A new retail corridor is at the heart of the development and offers a mix of venues for vibrant street life. The residential spaces and schools are designed with generous windows that are open to the light and activity of the streets below. Teachers Village restores a sense of place by activating the streetscape, attracting residents, students, and visitors to this dynamic new community and to the existing cultural, entertainment and educational infrastructure with institutions such as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark School for the Arts, the NJ Historical Society, Newark Museum, the main branch of the Newark Public Library, and the Prudential Center Arena. Access to open space for Teachers Village residents includes proximity to three city parks and community gardens, and the development. Surrounded by six universities with a community of 50,000 people, each with its own library and cultural facilities, offering further opportunities for engagement with the broader Newark community. 

Teachers Village is one of the first developments in America to pursue the LEED Neighborhood Development designation by the US Green Building Council, indicating that the project meets the highest levels of sustainable design and that the neighborhood integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building strategies. The project transformed former parking lots a sustainable new neighborhood that offers its teacher residents opportunities to live where they work and to experience high-quality healthy living in an affordable, safe environment downtown.