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: HOSPITAL LOT GETS GREENERY

red-bank-96-98-east-front-111222-1-500x375-3116520whatsgoingonhere-220x39-9915471Some readers have noticed earthmoving activity at the corner of Spring and East Front streets in Red Bank lately and wondered: What’s Going On Here?

SEE CORRECTION BELOW

red-bank-96-98-east-front-111222-2-500x375-1711775The lot as it appeared last week, above, and in December, 2020, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

red-bank-riverview-92-96-98-east-front-street-123020-220x146-7535943Riverview Medical Center owns the vacant half-acre lot, which for several years has been nothing but bare soil surrounded by construction fencing.

Hospital spokesman Tony Perry had little to say in response to redbankgreen questions about the activity, which includes tree and grass planting and the removal of the fence.

“Just merely landscaping the vacant lot,” Perry said via email. “Not creating anything.”

“There are currently no plans for the property,” he said.

As previously reported by redbankgreen, the parcel, at 96-98 East Front, is one of several acquired by the hospital in recent years that remain unused, without any publicly disclosed development plans.

This one has a curious history.

Healthcare facilities contractor Geoff Pierini bought the three adjoining parcels that now comprise the property in mid-2017, paying a total $1.25 million. Less than two years later, he secured planning board approval to construct a medical office building – with a car elevator serving an underground garage – on the site.

But in late 2020, with only demolition work having been done, Riverview paid Pierini $5.75 million for the property, four times his acquisition cost.

Why the hospital paid such a steep markup has never been answered. And to date, Riverview has made no move to develop the property, whether using Pierini’s approved plans or others.

While the nonprofit hospital, which is owned by Hackensack Meridian Health, pays no taxes on real estate used for healthcare delivery and support, such as offices and parking, it pays taxes on its unused holdings. For this lot, payments totaled less than $6,600 this year.

CORRECTION: The $6,600 reported here was for only one of three adjoining lots that comprise the hospital’s holdings at the corner. The total paid in 2022 for all three was $22,248.

Check out redbankgreen’s GIF of one of the houses getting demolished in May, 2020.

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
DEM GOV HOPEFUL FULOP VISITS RED BANK
110 people braved the ice on Super Bowl Sunday morning to head to Triumph Brewery to hear Steve Fulop’s case for why he should be our ...
REAL BRICKS!
Pardon our nerdiness, but we were excited to see the facade of the long-vacant building at 42 Monmouth being renovated with a facade that ap ...
NAVESINK SUNRISE
Sunrise colors Sunday over the Navesink. Shot from Maple Cove. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
PET OWNER TO RED BANK: SCREW YOU
(photo and text by Partyline contributor Anna Cruz; headline by redbankgreen) Remember to scoop the poop!  
A HAIR DRYER IN A TREE?
(Photo and text by Partyline contributor Nicole Taetsch) If someone is missing a red hair dryer, it’s hanging from a tree on Oakland S ...
FROM DEEP LEFT FIELD..
(Photo and words by Partyline contributor Peter Cavalier) Shapes, Angles, and Colors: an Artist’s Canvas Where: A frigid Saturday morn ...
SUNSET ICE BOATING
Sunset ice boating Saturday. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
ICY NAVESINK BLISS
Ice boating is back, baby! (Photo by partyline contributor Boris Kofman)
TEACHERS GET COUNCIL KUDOS
The Mayor and Borough Council honored five teachers from the Red Bank Borough Schools who were selected for the Governor’s Educator of the ...
RED BANK LIBRARY HEAD BIDS ADIEU
Eleni Glykis in her last day on the job in Red Bank Thursday (photo by Brian Donohue) redbankgreen stopped in the Red Bank Public Library to ...
TO TOWER HILL!
Parents and kids flocked to Tower Hill on Monday morning, taking advantage of the federal holiday and perfectly timed Sunday snowfall.
BROAD STREET IN WHITE
Taken during the snowstorm Sunday. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
Stunning Sunrise at Marine Park
Sunday’s sunrise from Marine Park. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
WALL STREET CLOSED FOR LEAK
Wall Street in Red Bank closed for water leak.
INDOOR SOCCER KICKS OFF
Pre-k and kindergarten aged kids were at Red Bank Middle School bright and early Sunday, participating in the indoor soccer program hosted b ...
SUNSET OVER FROZEN NAVESINK RIVER
Sunset colors Saturday evening over the ice shot from  Shrewsbury Ave. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
ICY VIEW FROM TRAIN WINDOW
View of the partially frozen Navesink River Saturday afternoon from NJCL Train #7244. (Photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim)
RBR BEATS RBC IN BOYS HOOPS RIVALRY
 Red Bank Regional's boys basketball came out with the win at home against their crosstown rivals Red Bank Catholic on Tuesday in Little Si ...
FRIGID DINNER FOR WATER LINE WORKERS
Work continued into the late night hours on Bank Street Tuesday night as a crew replaced several water lines to homes under the town wide le ...
SNOWY THREE KINGS DAY
The three kings in the St. Anthony of Padua Nativity scene have a dusting of snow on their crowns as well as the gold, frankincense and myrr ...