Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: LONG-VACANT BUILDING SOLD

67-broad-031415-500x375-9065853After a seven-year vacancy, 67 Broad Street has a new owner, who says he hopes to have a tenant in by summer. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Rcsm2_010508A gaping, long-term and somewhat mysterious vacancy in the heart of downtown Red Bank appears to be nearing an end.

Jeweler Joe Romanowski, who owns two stores on Broad Street, has purchased the building at 67 Broad, next door to his Poor Cat Designs boutique, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has learned.

• joe-romanowski-111513-2-500x375-3471233Joe Romanowski in 2013, during the buildout of his Goldtinker store at 24 Broad. (Click to enlarge)

The transfer has not yet hit the online property records maintained by Monmouth County, but Romanowski tells Churn he recently paid $774,000 for the building.

The seller was a Manhattan-based entity called Miracles 929 LLC, which paid $1.3 million for it in late 2005, when real estate prices were soaring. Little more than two years later, its last tenant, a dress shop called Marisa, departed, and the global economic recession hit, knocking down inflated values.

“It was never worth $1.3 million,” said Romanowski. “It’s worth what I paid for it.”

Romanowski also owns Goldtinker, a 40-year-old jewelry business that consolidated stores from Rumson and Deal at  24 Broad Street, which he bought for $1.3 million last year. Poor Cat rents its space, at 69 Broad, from landord Inge Perndorger.

The space at 67 Broad features two selling floors, including a second story with large arch-top window overlooking Broad near the intersection of Monmouth Street.

Romanowski said he hasn’t lined up a tenant, but is talking to a New York-based retailer of high-quality vintage clothing about a lease. He said the building needs only cosmetic touches, and he hopes to have a tenant in by summer.

“Anybody who goes in is going to have a leg up, because there is so much activity at Poor Cat,” he said. “And I’ll be able to charge a reasonable rent, so they can make money there.”

Red Bank RiverCenter executive director Jim Scavone expressed relief about the sale. He said  the long vacancy was an “eyesore,” and that the landlord ignored the agency’s offers to help land a tenant.

“We’re thrilled that it sold, and that it went to someone who really wants to bring specialty retail in,” Scavone told Churn. “Having someone like Joe own it is great.”

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
BUTTERFLIES LOVE THE WEED
Save the monarch, plant butterfly weed. (photo and text by Partyline contributor Roseann DalPra)  
LANTERNFLY PARTY
An invasive ailanthus tree sprouting in front of the US Post Office on Broad Street is covered with invasive spotted lantern fly nymphs Wedn ...
STREETCORNER SERENADE
An Irish doodle named Cheddar listens to native New Jerseyan, singer/songwriter and former Houston resident Tom Foti, (identified in the hea ...
Red Bank 5K Fun!!!
Red Bank Classic – June 14th, 2025 (photo by Partyline contributor Adam Kaplan)  
RAINBOW OVER RED BANK
Saturday, before and after the storm that rolled through town. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)    
Mini Ballers Bring the Heat at Fusion Basketball School
As the temperatures heat up, so does the competition in the mini baller clinic at Fusion School of Basketball. These little tykes are intens ...
DOZENS OF PLEIN AIR ARTISTS “PAINT RED BANK”
Plein air artists take over town for first ever "Paint Red Bank" event. (click to read)
RED BANK: SIGN ON ICONIC DANNY’S STEAK HOUSE COMES DOWN
The sign hanging from the shuttered Danny's Steak House comes down ten months after a manager reported Danny's Steakhouse would be back "bet ...
FOR YANKEES FANS, GOOD TRASH PICKIN’
A collection of framed photographs of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and other New York Yankees greats was placed curbside along with a ...
RED BANK: NEW HANDICAPPED PARKING, WEST SIDE MEETING PLANNED
New handicapped parking sign West Side advocate had pressed for is installed, with meeting planned to discuss other concerns. (click to read ...
SUNSET AT SUMMER’S START
Crazy sunset clouds shot from Monmouth Boat Club on the Friday evening at the start of Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer. ...
SIDEWALK GOES FROM WORST TO FIRST
P (photo by Brian Donohue) What had been, in our estimation – and apparently in the eyes of the several people who have emailed and te ...
RED BANK: PEERING FROM ON HIGH, ACROSS THE DECADES
Roofers on the Azalea Red Bank top off the project in the shadow of a sculpture depicting another generation of construction workers who toi ...
BRICK FACELIFT CONTINUES ON MONMOUTH STREET
A million-dollar brick sidwalk makeover of Monmouth Street in Red Bank continues.
JAY AND SILENT EAGLE
A very loud blue jay squawks at an indiferent bald eagle in a treetop alongside the Swimming River in Red Bank this week. (Partyline photo b ...
PIZZA LOVING SQUIRREL SPOTTED IN RED BANK
Pizza squirrel spotted in Red Bank. (click to read)
GET YOUR MA SOMETHIN’ NICE AT THE RED BANK FARMERS MARKET
It’s a beautiful and sunny Mother’s Day for the first instance of the farmer’s market, held every Sunday, beginning in May ...
SIGN? WHAT SIGN?
Folks in Red Bank Wednesday exercising their riparian rights to access tidal waters first encoded into Roman law in 500 AD and later adopted ...
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Partyline contributor captures photo of backyard fox.
STRIPER RUN AT MARINE PARK
An angler pulls in a striped bass from the Marine Park bulkhead Tuesday evening. (photo by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)