RED BANK: 14 APARTMENT PLAN GOES TO ZONING BOARD

Plans call for five, three-story buildings surrounding an open courtyard on the lot bordered by River Street and Bank Street. Two of the units would be set aside to fulfill the town’s affordable housing obligations, according to the plans. The complex would have a parking lot with 28 parking spaces.  The project requires multiple variances from the zoning board because it does not conform to borough zoning ordinances. 

You can view the full plans here: Architectural Plans

The two-family home on the lot at 240 Shrewsbury Avenue has sat boarded up with an X spray painted on it and no activity for more than a year since a demolition permit was issued by the borough. 

The owners of Incredible Oz are listed on the application as Maryellen and Ermenegildo Santopadre of Holmdel.

The property was part of a 2021 plan by developer Roger Mumford that called for demolishing the house at 240 Shrewsbury Avenue and one next door, on the corner at 234 Shrewsbury Avenue, to build a four-story structure with 23 apartments.

Zoning board members dubbed it too tall, too dense, and too out of step with where things should be going. Neighbors said it would gentrify a low-income area.

Resistance continued even after Mumford twice reduced the scope of the project, first cutting the number of units to 20, and then lopping off an entire floor.

Mumford abruptly withdrew the application in September 2021 just moments before an expected up-or-down vote by the zoning board, giving opponents a win.

Incredible Oz LLC purchased the three-lot parcel in March 2023 for $750,000.  An approval of the new plan would mark the latest significant change for a stretch of Shrewsbury Avenue that already has several others in the works. 

 In September 2023, the zoning board approved plans for 32 single-resident apartments for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities one block south at 273 Shrewsbury Avenue. Construction on that project is underway.

Meanwhile, several blocks north at 160 Shrewsbury Avenue, construction continues on a three-story mixed-use building that was approved in 2018. That building would have four apartments and street-level office space.

The meeting begins at 6:30 pm at Borough Hall, 90 Monmouth Street. 

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.