A clip from the August 24, 1984 Red Bank Register about a massive proposed development for the foot of Broad Street. Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Merchants were stoked. Residents were wary. And town officials were eventually, like, uh, no way.
Forty years ago this week, the Red Bank Register reported that a “$72 million dream” development was being proposed for the foot of Broad Street extending towards the Navesink River. The 22-story development would have included a hotel, an apartment high rise, offices and a large public plaza leading to the water.
An Ocean Township company with the very 1984-sounding name “Spyco” had reached agreements with 75 percent of the property owners to buy up the land, the paper reported.
It was not the first – and would not be the last – proposal to clear the buildings along Front Street to open vistas and foot traffic from Broad Street to the waterfront.
Such “Broad to the River” proposals date back as early as the 1930’s, as you can see from the below clip from the Register published in May, 1944.
And the 1984 Spyco plan would become the latest “Broad to the River” idea to go nowhere.
By November 1984, the Register was reporting on increasing opposition among borough officials and a proposal to change the master plan to limit buildings in the area to four stories that would essentially kill it.
The developers were warning if they were limited to four stories, they would be forced to wall off the river with a single large building, they dubbed “The Great Wall of Red Bank.” 
Some things never change, though.
Echoes of the “Broad to the River” idea came back in 2019 as developer Denholtz Properties began buying up some of the properties Spyco had whiffed on a generation earlier.
And the practice of developers and borough officials horse trading density and height in exchange for more setbacks and public space is still a feature of planning and zoning debates in town.
You might even seen a similar discussions as the town preps to consider plans for the train station redevelopment zone.
As for the “Broad to the River” idea, well, it’s still just a dream. At least there’s no “Great Wall of Red Bank.”
Throwbacks is an occasional look back at the town’s rich history through the lense of the Red Bank Register newspaper digital archives maintained by the Red Bank Public Library.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
