Two River Green hopes to convert the laundromat behind Strollo’s Lighthouse Italian Ice to a cannabis store. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposal to turn a Red Bank laundromat into a pot shop is slated to return to the borough planning board for review Wednesday night.
Also on the agenda: a plan to put a restaurant into most of the downtown space formerly occupied by CoCo Pari. 
The former CoCo Pari space would be split in two for retail and restaurant uses. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
• Continuing a hearing begun April 15, Two River Green LLC is seeking conditional use approval for a retail cannabis store at 54 North Bridge Avenue, where the Red Bank Laundry Center now operates. The property sits directly behind Strollo’s Lighthouse Italian Ice.
The initial hearing on the matter ended with the board asking for more information on parking and traffic flow through the site, which is bounded by North Bridge Avenue and Rector Place.
Even if approved, Two River’s plan would face obstacles to opening, including a borough cap on the number of retail cannabis licenses, all three of which have been awarded.
A fourth applicant, the Garden at Red Bank, obtained planning board approval in February, but afterward was “placed on a waitlist for if/when one of the first three licenses becomes available or the ordinances change again,” borough Attorney Greg Cannon said last month.
Mayor Billy Portman told redbankgreen that the council has no plans to increase the number of licenses.
• At 17 Broad Street, new owner John DiLeo is proposing to split the ground floor of the former Coco Pari women’s clothing shop into a 2,700-square-foot restaurant and a 600 SF retail space.
The restaurant “will seek appropriate licensure to allow for the service of alcoholic beverages,” according to a filing with the planning office. The plan requires parking variances.
As reported by redbankgreen, DiLeo bought the building, and the one next door at 19 Broad, the former home of Catch 19 restaurant, for a combined $6.2 million last summer. DiLeo also owns Centrada restaurant, at 8-10 West Front Street.
The board meeting begins at 7 p.m. at borough hall and can be watched on Zoom, though only in-person attendees may ask questions or comment. The full agenda can be found here.
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