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: APARTMENTS RISE FROM HOLE

whatsgoingonhere-8410917red-bank-forum-24-mechanic-street-111110-1-500x332-4828131After months of abandonment, a downtown Red Bank site is on its way to becoming home to 24 individuals and families.

What’s Going On Here? Read on…

riviera-mechanic-082217-2-500x375-6327577The site as it appeared in 2017, above. Below, a rendering of the project now under construction and called the Forum. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

red-bank-forum-24-mechanic-street-drawing-111120-220x125-7699325The location is 24-30 Mechanic Street, where borough inspectors halted a prior owner’s work in September, 2017, just days after excavation began.

At issue: inadequate stabilizing of resulting hole in the ground, which threatened the structural integrity of the former Independent Engine firehouse next door, as well as an adjoining sidewalk, officials said.

Though the excavation was later refilled for safety reasons, the project, called Riverwalk Commons, never resumed, and went into foreclosure.

Two years later, through an entity called HRK at Red Bank LLC, builder Mazin ‘Patrick’ Kalian acquired the property and approvals to build. He began erecting 22 luxury apartments and two affordable units about a year ago for a project he rebranded the Forum.

Last Wednesday, project manager Terry Deodato gave redbankgreen a tour of the site, where the Tyvek-wrapped four-story structure is just about buttoned-up and ready for interior sheetrocking.

With grade-level parking underneath – accessed exclusively via the East Side parking lot, per an agreement with the borough – each of the three floors of living space features eight uniquely laid out units, some as large as 1,300 square feet.

On each floor is a central common area: one for storage, one a gym and one a lounge for tenants and their guests. Another perk: the roof will feature an expansive deck with views of the Navesink River.

Occupancy is expected to begin in July, Deodato said.

The former firehouse, meantime, was renovated by a private owner and opened a year ago as Nest, a furniture store.

If you value the kind of news coverage redbankgreen delivers, please become a paying member. Click here for details about our new, free newsletter and membership information.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
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)  
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)