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: TOWN IN DEAL FOR OFFICE SITE

fair-haven-623-river-022120-1-500x332-9658607The borough plans to buy and raze the office building at 623 River Road, the mayor says. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[See clarification below]

By JOHN T. WARD

After getting derailed last year, Fair Haven’s ambitious plan to consolidate borough facilities in new locations are expected to get back on track Monday night.

The town now plans to acquire and demolish the office building at 623 River Road and replace it with a new borough hall and police station, Mayor Ben Lucarelli told redbankgreen Friday morning.

fair-haven-623-river-022120-2-500x332-3657456The building, at center, is next door to the Fair Haven Volunteer Fire Company property. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

Under a negotiated deal, the borough will pay $3.4 million for the building and 1.44-acre lot, according to borough Administrator Theresa Casagrande.

The property is assessed $2.79 million, according to Monmouth County property records. Its owner is listed as Reiss Manufacturing, of Rumson. Lucarelli declined to say which party initiated the negotiations.

The borough council is scheduled to introduce an ordinance allowing for the deal at its regular meeting Monday night. (Here’s the agenda, which includes the ordinance, 2020-02.)

While he expects questions from the public, “we really won’t be talking about it much Monday,” Lucarelli said. “It’s really just to introduce the ordinance.”

Ordinances typically go up for final adoption votes at the meeting following the one at which they’re introduced – which in this case would be March 9.

The target site is located between the borough firehouse and the Krauszer’s convenience store, and includes offices and Synergy Hot Yoga among its tenants.

Lucarelli said planning consultants to the borough “agree that having our borough facilities adjacent to the fire company is ‘best practices’ as far as planning goes.”

Because of its “residential style” wood frame construction, the 13,500-square-foot building is not suitable for municipal purposes, Lucarelli said. While it could be retrofitted, at a cost of about $600,000, he said bonding options for an all-new facility would allow the borough to amortize costs over 30 years, rather than 10-years under a rehab approach, he said.

[Clarification: Casagrande told redbankgreen following publication of the original version of this post that the building “could potentially be retrofitted” for about $600,000 less than the cost of a new structure. That’s based on a “very preliminary” estimate that rehabbing would cost about $50 per square foot less than new construction, she wrote by email. Cost estimates for either approach will depend on the size and design of the building and won’t be done “unless the Borough purchases the property,” she wrote by email.

In addition, she said: “Should the property purchase become final, the Borough’s Governing Body has yet to make a decision on whether to build new or retrofit the building. That decision will be made after our Architect and Engineering professionals perform a detailed comparison of both options (new and retrofit) that will include pros, cons, and costs for each option.”]

Under a plan unveiled in October, 2018, the borough aimed to acquire the vacant former Sunoco gas station property, located directly across River Road from the office building, on which it hoped to build a new police station and borough hall.

But just two months later, developer M&M Realty Partners of Piscataway, which had previously proposed building a drive-thru bank on the site, exercised its option to buy the property for $1.3 million, according to Monmouth County records.

M&M also signaled its intention to develop the site with a mix of residential and commercial uses.

Under the terms of a recent settlement between the borough and the Fair Share Housing Center over the town’s affordable housing obligations, M&M would be permitted to build up to 14 apartments on the gas station site, two of them set aside for low- and moderate-income tenants, atop ground-floor commercial uses in a building up to 38 feet tall.

Meantime, the council is moving toward solicitation of bids to build the new DPW operation on Third Street, which would leave the borough with a swath of adjoining, developable property, Lucarelli told redbankgreen in mid-January.

 

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
HOVERING CHOPPER
What’s going on here? Last Sunday. Hovering around for quite a while. (Photo and text by Partyline contributor Rosaleen Perry)   ...
RBMS HOOPS CHAMPS HONORED
The Red Bank Middle School girls basketball team is honored for their championship season. (click for more)
NAVESINK SUNSET
Sunset sunburst over Riverside Gardens Park (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
RIVERSIDE SUNSET
Sunday’s sunset shot from Riverside Gardens Park. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus) —
MARINE PARK SUNSET
Stunning sunset from Red Bank's Marine Park.
GULLS AND GRAY OVER MOLLY PITCHER INN
On a cold rainy spring day, bulls soared high above the Navesink River and the golden cupola of Red Bank's Molly Pitcher Inn.
Red Bank Commuters Enjoy Stunning Sunrise Over Navesink River
Thursday morning sunrise over the Navesink River, a commuter view from NJ Transit Train 3320. (photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim) & ...
SUNRISE OVER MONMOUTH STREET
Sunrise over Monmouth Street Thursday morning (photo by Partline contributor Thomas Doremus)
FINAL STRAW FOR MARINE PARK REMAKE
Workers place a straw covering over the now-dirt (soon to be grass) stretch of Marine Park that had been an asphalt parking lot for generati ...
DEER IN RED BANK
Dear Friends –Original before GPT– Deer Friends
GHOSTBUSTERS ON MONMOUTH STREET
Ghostbusters vehicle spotted on Monmouth Street. (photo by Partyline contributor Roseann DalPra)
BOAT CLUB AND BATTLESHIP GREY
Monmouth Boat Club under the past weekend’s clouds. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)    
CURBSIDE BLOOMS
Broad Street beautified. (photo and text by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
NEW MURAL TAKES SHAPE AT CANNABIS SHOP
Red Bank artist Michael White, donning a hat fitting for the day of the New York Mets’ home opener, works on a new mural at Canopy Cro ...
CHERRY BLOSSOMS ABOUND IN RED BANK
Cherry blossoms are everywhere! (photo and text by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
DOWNTOWN RED BANK ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Downtown on a Friday afternoon. (partyline Photo by Thomas Doremus)  
LIGHTS ON THE NAVESINK
Thursday’s post-sunset clouds over the Navesink (Partyline photo by Thomas Doremus)  
A SPRING IN THE STEP
A man walks carrying a bouquet of flowers beneath the blooming trees in Red Bank. (Partyline photo by John T. Ward)  
ROWING INTO SPRING
Beyond the magnolia trees in full bloom at the Red Bank Library, the Navesink River Rowing Advanced Youth Program heads out for their weekda ...
RED BANK GREEN VISITS AUSTRALIA
Publisher Kenny Katzgrau is representing Red Bank and Red Bank Green at the Local and Independent News Association Summit in Melbourne, Aust ...