The building rented by Mi Lupita’s at 78 Bridge Avenue and the brick building in the background rented by 90 Degree Framing and Fine Arts Services would be bulldozed for 20 condos under a plan approved by the Borough. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
A developer who got the okay to knock down the restaurant Mi Lupita’s Kitchen, 90° Degree Gallery and Framing, and a pair of century-old homes to build a 20-unit condo building near the Red Bank train station has instead sold the entire tract – with the building approvals – for $4.3 million.
That’s about $1.2 million more than seller Warren Diamond paid for the five properties in 2023, according to documents on file with the Monmouth County clerk’s office.
Two homes along Oakland Street are part of the parcel sold. They would be demolished under the plans approved by the borough to build condos on the site. (photo by Brian Donohue)
The buyer is a real estate developer who has made recent headlines for her lawsuit against the city of Perth Amboy over the city’s attempt to seize by eminent domain a four-family apartment building she owns there.
Honey Meerzon told redbankgreen she plans to proceed with the four-story condo project approved for the lots along Oakland Street and Bridge Avenue in Red Bank.
She said she has offered current tenants, including the popular Mi Lupita’s restaurant, leases on commercial space in the planned buildings. She also said she would immediately forward their security deposits toward a lease on another space they may need to rent.
“I want to do things right, not like what Perth Amboy is doing to me,” she said, referring to her high-profile legal battle with the city just up the Parkway.
According to property records on file with the Monmouth County Clerk, the five properties by the Red Bank train station were purchased by Diamond’s corporation, American Opportunity Zone LLC, in November 2023 for $2.3 million, from Mary and Roy Jennings, who operated the Chowda House in the space now held by Mi Lupitas from 2013 to 2019.
Instead of building, Diamond decided to flip the project.
A contract of sale filed on July 24 shows American Opportunity Zone was under contract to sell the properties to the Meerzon-owned residential real estate corporation Home Junction LLC. Both Meerzon and a real estate agent representing Diamond confirmed that the sale was finalized on Friday.
“We will be following the plans that were approved by zoning,” Meerzon said, referring to the Diamond’s plan for 20 residential units and two retail spots.
An illustration of the planned building submitted with the application to build a 20-unit condo building at 72-78 Bridge Avenue.
It is unclear if Mi Lupita’s will take her up on her offer to rent one of the two business spaces approved for the ground floor.
Owner Christian Marroquin could not be reached for comment, but he is quoted in a 2024 Asbury Park Press article as saying he knew his time in the one-story building at 78 Bridge Avenue was temporary when he signed the lease, as his previous landlord planned to sell to the developer Diamond.
Given an opportunity to get his first restaurant up and running at the location, he told the paper, “I took my chances.’
Meanwhile, the owners of 90° Gallery, located in a brick building at 72 Bridge, tell redbankgreen they are moving to a location in Long Branch. And the family living in a $2,500 a month two-bedroom apartment above the gallery say they have until December to find another place to live.
Imelda Sanchez said she and her husband Fermin, have so far struggled to find anything for themselves and their two children in Red Bank in a similar affordable price range. They hope to remain in Red Bank, where their daughters attend the Red Bank Primary School and Red Bank Middle School.
“I ask my husband, “Where are we going to go? They’re giving us until November or December. It’s difficult to find a place when you have two kids.
Meerzon, meanwhile, continues to fight the City of Perth Amboy to keep that city from seizing and bulldozing her own rental property there.
She recently made headlines for her legal battle against the City, which is attempting to seize a four-family home she owns through eminent domain so it can be redeveloped.
Meerzon and her neighbor, Luis Romero, have sued Perth Amboy, calling the seizure an unconstitutional abuse of eminent domain powers, according to multiple press reports on the case. (see video below)
“True redevelopment lifts people up, it doesn’t push them down,” Meerzon said in an article on the website for the Institute for Justice, a property rights organization that assists property owners in eminent domain battles. “I’ve worked hard to manage my property well for years. The city can’t take my home just because it wants it.”
In a Youtube video about the Perth Amboy case, Meerzon, is described as an entrepreneur whose family fled religious persecution in the former Soviet Union and worked hard to purchase the building, only to have the city attempt to seize it.
Referring to her purchase of the four-family building in Perth Amboy, she said, “It took everything to be able to do that,” she told redbankgreen.
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.
