Construction is back underway at 160 Shrewsbury Avenue, according to the builder. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A Shrewsbury Avenue construction project which has sat as a big quiet hole in the ground for almost a year is moving again after the builder says he addressed officials’ concerns that it could cave in.
Howell-based developer Bekim Kosovrasti is erecting a three-story mixed-use structure at 160 Shrewsbury Avenue.
He got planning board approval in 2018 and started building in spring of 2023. But borough code enforcement officers issued a stop work order in June 2023 due to concerns over the shoring of the site, according to building records.
And so the hole in the ground sat idle for much of the next few months. Kosovrasti’s brother Lou, who identified himself as a partner on the project told redbankgreen they recently got permits released from the borough and have re-started construction. He added “the foundation is almost complete, the steel’s going up in the next couple weeks and the framing will follow after the steel.”
The project would transform the corner of Shrewsbury and Earl Street. It  replaces a now-demolished house that was last used for office and retail space, according to testimony at a 2018 planning board hearing. The site abuts a parking lot owned by the Monmouth Rugby Football Club, whose clubhouse is located on the opposite side of Shrewsbury Avenue.
The plan calls for a 7,500-square-building, with on-site parking for nine cars and office space at street level, and four apartments on the upper two floors.
As seen in the rendering above, it will feature a mansard roof a Mediterranean-flavored facade of simulated stone and real brick. Vehicle access to and from the parking lot would be via Earl Street, a dead-end street.
Kosovrasti, who acquired the property for $196,000 in a 2017 sheriff’s sale, originally hoped to complete the project by this November. His brother Lou said this week the final completion date is likely some time in mid to late 2025.
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