240 Shrewsbury Avenue photographed Thursday, July 16. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By DAVID VILACOBA
Developers withdrew a plan to build 14 new apartments on Shrewsbury Avenue before the Zoning Board on Thursday night, opting to revise their designs.
The developers – Incredible Oz. LLC, owned by Maryellen and Ermenegildo Santopadre of Holmdel – had planned to construct the two-bedroom apartments at 240 Shrewsbury Ave.
However, board members were conflicted about several of the proposed variances.
These variances included a front and side yard setback, a 30% increase in the lot coverage and the construction of residential units on the first floor of the building, as opposed to commercial ones required by the zoning codes.
The developers justified the omission of the retail units by arguing that the neighborhood had too many businesses compared to the number of residents.
“You have the idea that it’s a neighborhood business district,” said Edward O’Neill, the planner and architect for the developers. “In order to populate that commercial district, you need more neighborhoods.”
Board Member Chris Havens agreed with the applicants.
“What do you do when you have problems with retailers? You put more people in the neighborhood,” Havens said.
Other board members, including Paul Cagno, disagreed, believing this would hurt business in the area and go against Red Bank’s 2023 Master Plan, which calls for retail on the ground floor of the business corridor.
“It’s only going to make the area less attractive to people to come to Shrewsbury Avenue if they want to shop,” Cagno said. “If we’re going to develop it, why don’t we develop it according to what the master plan says?”
Another topic of debate concerned one of Red Bank’s hottest topics – parking.
The planned complex would have 28 parking spaces, the minimum number of spaces required. However, O’Neill believes that fewer spaces could suffice, which would also eliminate the variances for the lot increase and setbacks.
Some board members took issue with this, not wanting to risk worsening Red Bank’s parking issues.
“In a case that we do have adequate parking, I say don’t mess with it,” Board Member Vincent Light said.
Eventually, after a five-minute recess towards the end of the meeting, the developers decided to withdraw the application for the meantime, hoping to come back with a “better product,” according to McKenna.
“You won’t see the last of us for this property,” McKenna said.
The apartments would have centered around an outdoor courtyard in an “environmentally sensitive” design, as O’Neill put it. Solar panels and efficient cross-ventilation systems were also planned as ways to reduce power usage.
Two of the apartments were designated as affordable housing in order to meet borough requirements.
This plan is the newest development in the saga of the currently boarded-up property at 240 Shrewsbury Ave. In 2021, another plan to build apartments on the lot was withdrawn after public backlash.
Incredible Oz bought the property in 2023, and attempted to also purchase the neighboring lot. That effort was unsuccessful.
Also at the meeting, the board approved the conversion of the single-family home at 195 Bridge Avenue to a two-family home.
David Vilacoba is a reporter intern for redbankgreen. Editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
