CHURN: FRESH STARTS DOWNTOWN
The building at 14 West Front Street, center above, has changed hands. The white one next door is the site of a proposed roof deck for the Downtown, at far right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn takes note of news at three key downtown properties.
Two are in the heart of a strip of businesses undergoing rapid change on West Front Street.
The other, on Broad Street, is marking the completion of an overhaul that’s been underway for more than three years.
Patrick Carroll in one of the newly-renovated third-floor offices at 12 Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
The Morgan family of Rumson, owners of several downtown Red Bank properties, added to their holdings with the purchase last month of 14 West Front Street.
Through an LLC they control, the Morgans paid $755,000 for the three-story building to Mehmet Ors, who bought it for $550,000 in 2001, according to Monmouth County property records.
John Morgan tells Churn that the upper floors need work and will be repaired. But the storefront, vacated 14 months ago by Lucky Break Billiards, is ready for leasing, he says.
The Morgans also own 58-64 Broad Street, home to street-level businesses that include a photo studio, a yet-to-open Subway sandwich shop and a lacrosse equipment store, with multiple businesses in the second-floor offices; 36 Broad, former longtime home of Ballew Jewelers and soon to be home to a Chocolate Works franchise; and the former Liberty Hose firehouse, on White Street.
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Three and a half years ago, Churn filled in readers on Nima Nilli’s plans for 12 Broad Street, the five-story building next door to Urban Outfitters that now hosts Pinot’s Palette and Alex and Ani jewelry on its ground floor.
Nilli and partners have finally completed the extensive overhaul of the offices above. Patrick Carroll, operations manager, said seven offices ranging in size from about 300 to 1,500 square feet are now available on the third floor. All feature exposed brick walls and ductwork.
Geoff Brothers of Brothers Commercial is handling the leasing.
Nilli and partners also own the former Wayne’s Market and former Love Lane Tuxedos buildings just around the corner on West Front Street.
The old Wayne’s has a tenant whose identity Carroll declined to reveal, whereas Love Lane, at 23 West Front, is undergoing extensive renovations. That space is without a signed tenant since interior designer Amy Manor changed her plans for the Red Bank Design Center and late last year opened it at Broad and Harding Road instead.
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Speaking of 14 West Front, the building next door, at number 12, is scheduled to be the subject of a zoning board hearing Thursday night on Downtown owner Dan Lynch’s proposal to expand his restaurant into that two-story structure and create an outdoor deck on its roof.
