The owner wants to create five new units in the 91-unit building.
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Compromise sealed the deal to move forward with plans to renovate Grandville Towers from apartments to condominiums, which gained approval from the Red Bank zoning board Thursday.
After more than a year of occasional hearings, presentations and a little haggling — particularly over affordable housing requirements — the Morford Place building’s owners got the OK to convert Grandview’s 91 apartments and overhaul the first floor by adding new condos and facilities.
“This is a winner,” board member Kevin Moss said.
The building’s developers, PRC Group, spent the last 18 months or so back-and-forthing with the state Coalition On Affordable Housing and the zoning board whether the conversion would require a set-aside of a one-bedroom or a two-bedroom affordable condo. COAH said a one-bedroom was OK; the zoning board wanted a two, said Robert McGowan, attorney for PRC.
But the zoning board backed off Thursday night and accepted PRC’s offer to make a contribution to the borough’s affordable housing fund based on the value differences of the two unit sizes. In addition, PRC will ensure nearby Depot Street, which is in need of repairs, gets a proper fix up.
“We’ve all gone through a lot with you and we appreciate what you’re doing,” board chairwoman Lauren Nicosia told McGowan. “This is a compromise.”
Now, PRC’s attention will turn to the actual renovations at the 10-story building. In phases, the company will convert all the apartments to condos by installing new kitchens and bathrooms and remodeling the spaces.
The first floor, where there’s now one apartment and a common area that includes a pool and bathrooms, will be completely revamped. Five condos will be built and McGowan said the pool and laundry rooms will be upgraded with a storage area, meeting rooms and new bathrooms.
McGowan said at the earliest, construction would start in the spring and when it does, the developers will work around tenants and/or accommodate them so as not to cause disruption. Once started, construction would take between 12 and 18 months, McGowan said.
It could take years to sell the condos considering the economy, and sales won’t even start until “well into next year,” McGowan added.
What does this mean for all the tenants that live there now?
Maybe the construction will put an end to T & J Autobody treating Depot Street like their own private parking lot.
To answer Curious’s question, it looks like current tenants have the right to keep renting for three years after the conversion, and that might be longer if the landlord does not take all the proper steps to get them out. For some senior citizens that period is extended to 40 years. Seems reasonable enough.
And exactly how much will this lower our taxes? That should be the first statement made about any proposal for any part of RB. Also, how many dollars are they putting into the affordable housing fund and how was the amount determined?
Where are they going to build the 5 new condos? There’s no space outside. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can explain this approved plan vs the one at the Colony House that did not get approved. What are the elements that make one a winner and the other not? Thanks, I’m trying to learn about what’s going on in town.