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.

FAIR HAVEN: ACME CENTER MAKEOVER OK’D

fh-acme-041817-1-500x375-8019299Three renderings of the proposed monument sign that proved a sticking point for planning board members. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot-topic_03-220x138-2130637A makeover of Fair Haven’s dowdy Acme shopping center won borough planning board approval Tuesday night, but minus a proposed slab of signage that dominated a three-hour meeting.

fh-acme-center-122216-4-500x375-3669034The monument sign would call out stores in a building not visible from River Road. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

At the second hearing on the proposed changes, an engineer and an architect for the 1950s-vintage strip mall detailed revisions regarding landscaping, lighting and signage.

In that last category was an omnibus sign calling out the names of businesses in an 8,000-square-foot building that’s not visible from River Road out front. Sited at the far northeast corner of the property and abutting the northern wall of the former Laird’s Stationery space, the sign proved problematic to board members.

For one thing, it “couldn’t be any farther  away from the stores you’re trying to call attention to,” said board Chairman Jake Rue. He and other board members also raised concerns about the visibility of passing bicyclists and pedestrians to motorists exiting the center.

Several members pressed the applicant to relocate the sign to the northwest corner of the site, beside a Valero filling station, but architect Jim McGillin replied that wasn’t feasible.

In a late-hour suggestion, McGillin proposed altering the monument sign so that there would be six feet of clearance underneath, a change that the board was generally amenable to. Still, member Todd Lehder said he would prefer to see drawings of the changes, and suggested the board vote on that piece separately.

With the assent of Michael Bruno, the lawyer for the property owner, the board made approval of the sign a condition of overall approval, with a hearing on the sign scheduled for April 27.

Alison Dale cast the lone “no” vote in the 7 to 1 decision approving the rest of the project. She cited an objection to the method of sign illumination.

Dan Hughes, a principal in the company that bought the 16-store, 4.4-acre center for for $5.8 million two years ago, had previously told the board the project could be completed by the end of October if it approved the makeover plan this month. Otherwise, construction would be delayed until next March, he said.

The center is home to a post office, a liquor store, a vegan restaurant and other businesses spread across three buildings. The former TD Bank space has been leased to Chase Bank, which has begun work inside and will continue to use the existing drive-thru.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
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)  
COLD AS CANADA? CHECK.
A pair of goose sculptures propped atop an air conditioning unit on River Street in Red Bank.
SUNRISE OVER A GLASSY NAVESINK
Sunrise over the Navesink River, seen from NJ Transit Train 3320. (photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim)  
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
NJ Transit "heritage" locomotive makes an appearance at the Red Bank station.