By BRIAN DONOHUE
The owners of Red Bank’s Galleria complex have applied to build a 40-unit apartment complex on the Navesink River across the street from the historic brick converted factory.
The plans include two buildings to be built on a little-used parking lot at 26-28 Shrewsbury Avenue that is owned by Sourlis International Realty Corp, owners of the Galleria, between the waterfront and the NJ Transit train tracks.
Gated Investments LLC applied at the end of January to build two structures: one with 22 apartments with 80 parking spaces and another with 18 apartment units. The application is signed by George T. Sourlis, member of the family that owns the Galleria, the historic converted brick factory across the street. MODE Architects of Asbury Park prepared the plans.
It would require several variances from the Zoning Board of Adjustments, according to the January 28 development permit denial signed by Borough Zoning Officer Shawna Ebanks. Plans indicate the project would need variances for open space, setbacks, the distance between buildings, the length of buildings, and others digressions from borough zoning ordinances.
A photo of the parking lot taken last week. (photo by Brian Donohue)
The property was formerly a parking lot connected with the Galleria, according to the certification filed by George Sourlis, but has seen little use in recent years.
redbankgreen reached out to Sourlis at the Galleria office and were told he was unavailable for comment. In an email response to redbankgreen Charles Avery, listed as the applicant on the zoning permit application said, “This is way too early to discuss.”
In 2008, the owners submitted – and later withdrew – an application to build a 55,000 square foot office building and a parking deck on the property, once home to the Hance Davis Coal & Feed Store. They later submitted – and also withdrew – plans for an office building and parking deck on the Galleria parking lot where the Red Bank Farmer’s Market is held from April to November.
A page from the plans submitted with the application for 26-28 Shrewsbury Avenue.
If approved, the building would be the latest project in a construction boom that is seeing new apartment buildings and condominium developments rising in almost every corner of town, with more approved projects in the pipeline and others seeking approval. No date has been set for any Zoning Board consideration of the project.
Work continues apace on a host of projects by various developers, including:
- Azalea Gardens, a project that includes 14 townhomes and two cottages on the block bounded by Harding and Hudson Avenues and Clay Street where the building is framed out.
- Saxum Real Estate’s 212-apartment complex at 176 Riverside Avenue, the former home of the Visiting Nurses Association now being demolished.
- A 45-unit building at 121 Monmouth Street dubbed “The Sax,” a reference to the now-demolished building on the site that once housed a nightclub owned by Clarence Clemons. The Borough Council approved a developer’s bond last month, which developers typically obtain as they begin to prepare for construction.
- A 32-unit apartment building now nearing completion on the site of an old gas station at 120 Monmouth Street.
- One Globe Court, a 40-unit building under construction on Mechanic Street.
- Ten condo units and 600 square feet of commercial space at 96-98 West Front Street at the corner of Maple Avenue. (photo below)
And at least two more major projects are in far earlier stages of the pipeline:
- A developer last summer received Planning Board approvals to demolish two homes and other buildings to put 20 condos near the train station where Mi Lupita’s restaurant now stands.
- The planning board is currently considering the train station redevelopment plan that would allow up to 400 units on NJ Transit Parking lots and properties owned by the agency’s designated developer, Denholtz.
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.
