The former Wells Fargo Bank at 303 Broad Street is under contract to be sold. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
The four-property tract listed as 303 Broad Street, as viewed from the parking lot fronting East Bergen Place. (Photo by Brian Donohue)
A Denville-based corporation, 303 Broad Street Associates LLC, entered into a contract to buy the four properties on the corner of East Bergen Place and Broad Street on August 18, according to property records filed with the Monmouth County clerk’s office.
No sale price is listed for the properties, which include parking lots at 119 and 123 East Bergen Place and the 60-year-old Colonial Revival structure at 303 Broad that housed Wells Fargo bank until the location shut down in May 2024. There are no records on file indicating the sale has been finalized.
The purchasing corporation’s members are listed as Victor Bolkhovskiy of Watchung, Marius Pop, of Rego Park, NY, and Simon Valisberg of Martinsville, NJ. redbankgreen was unable to reach any of them.
The land is assessed at 3.9 million, Monmouth County property records show. It was last sold in 2016 for $3.8 million to Grace Acquisitions NJ LLC of Lakewood, a corporation listed as the seller on the contract of sale filed in August.
The building at 303 Broad was erected as a banking operation in 1965 and was home to a succession of industry players in the ensuing decades.
A half-decade ago, there was buzz about the possibility that the property might someday become a new home to the municipal government, replacing 90 Monmouth Street as borough hall.
As reported by redbankgreen, the Redevelopment Agency had authorized an architect to “do a concept design” to see if the site could accommodate borough offices, the police department and municipal court.
But the idea, like everything else the agency was working on, was shelved when the borough council dissolved the agency in April, 20-22.
As of mid-September, no permit or development applications were on file with the borough for the site.
But deep on page 39 of the Borough of Red Bank Fair Share Housing Plan submitted to the state in July (click here to dowload) is an indication of what might be planned.
It reads: “A developer has approached the Borough with a concept plan to redevelop the 4.1 acre site on the corner of Broad Street and Bergen Place with a development that would consist of townhouse and stacked flat dwelling units. A 20% set aside of affordable units would be included.
This project has only been recently proposed at this time and likely would require a rezoning of the site to accommodate the proposal. The Borough is in the process of vetting the project and will consider the feasibility and suitability of new multi-family housing on the site.”
It is unclear if the developers mentioned in the affordable housing plan are the same people under contract to buy the property.
The site sits just a block north of another tract where a developer is purchasing a string of properties with an eye toward creating a new residential development on the site of the Atlantic Club. (See previous redbankgreen coverage below.)
RED BANK: BUILDER PLANS TOWNHOMES FOR ATLANTIC CLUB TRACT
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.
