Architect Lou Silverstein with a rendering of the proposed hotel, at center above, as seen from the Middletown side of Cooper’s Bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Almost six years after it was first proposed, a Hampton Inn at Red Bank’s northern gateway remains nothing more than an abstraction, existing solely as mountain of engineer and litigation documents.
The developer hopes to finally turn it into a seven-story reality.
The hotel would be built on the former site of an Exxon filling station. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Plans for the 76-room structure, to be built on the site of a former Exxon station at Route 35 and Rector Place, at the foot of Cooper’s Bridge, were filed by Rbank Capital, of Old Bridge in 2011.
But hearings discontinued in 2013 in the midst of litigation, and only an informal presentation has been held since last January, when the last legal obstacle to the proposal was knocked down in Rbank’s favor.
Now, having been postponed by several heavy planning board agendas in recent months, the hotel plan is the sole major piece of business on Monday night’s agenda.
The board meets at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at 90 Monmouth Street.
