A proposal to convert the Colony House apartments on Bodman Place into upmarket condos was shot down by the Red Bank zoning board last night, today’s Asbury Park Press reports.
From the Press:
It may have been a lack of 42 parking spaces that killed the proposal.
Plans called for a total of 88 spaces , 68 of them on the Colony House site on Riverside Avenue and another 20 spaces in a lot to be created off site.
That issue was raised by residents of the nearby Mara Vista Condo Association, represented by attorney Sean Byrnes.
“We will have a situation like New York City where people will drive around looking for parking, double park and look out their windows for a space to open up,” Byrnes said. “Sixty-eight spots (on the site) worked in 1958, it doesn’t in 2008.”
The plan called for swanking up the seven-story brick structure, eliminating eight of the one-bedroom units and increasing the number of three-bedroom units from one to 49. Nearly all the condos would have balconies with views of the Navesink.
From the Press:
The vote caught residents of the building off guard, who said they expected the board to approve the plan.
“I was surprised,” said David Doynow, who lives in the Colony House.
Doynow made a last minute plea to the board that approval of the plans reduces the amount of housing that middle class residents can afford.
“You have to be concerned that there is not enough middle class housing. He wants to put in nice rich people. Is that what you want?” Doynow asked the board.
