RED BANK: BASIE STARTS MASSIVE EXPANSION

Dozens of local politicians and players in the arts world turned out for the event. Below, Basie board members Steven Van Zandt and his wife, Maureen Van Zandt. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A $23 million expansion of Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre formally got underway Wednesday, beginning what’s expected to be a 20-month endeavor to turn the Vaudeville-era venue into a powerhouse for live performance and arts education.

The aim, musician and actor Steven Van Zandt told an al fresco gathering, is “to make Red Bank an example to the rest of the county of what it is possible to do” in elevating the arts.

September 20, 2017 - 3:23 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: WHAT’S NEXT FOR PARKING?

The redevelopment plan for the White Street parking lot is slated for recission next week, but will have to be redone at some point, says Councilman Mike Whelan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Now that Red Bank’s elected officials have agreed, unofficially, to restart a drive for a downtown parking solution, what happens next?

Two government meetings on one night, for starters.

September 20, 2017 - 7:45 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: LIQUOR STORE GETS A REBOOT

The former Yogi’s Liquors, at Drs. James Parker Boulevard and Leighton Avenue, has been rebranded A1 Liquors. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A liquor store on Red Bank’s West Side that had a seedy reputation was getting ready to reopen last week with a new look, a new business plan and a new approach to customers, its owners said.

September 18, 2017 - 9:10 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: POLS PULL U-TURN ON PARKING

The redevelopment plan for the White Street parking lot, outlined in red above, will be rescinded in an effort to end a lawsuit and address concerns about building size, borough officials said. (Image by Google Maps. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s search for a downtown parking solution took a U-turn Wednesday night, when the borough council put in motion a plan to derail a pending lawsuit by former councilwoman Cindy Burnham that members say has impeded progress.

In what was also described as a “compromise” between Republicans and Democrats over proposed building sizes , the council agreed to scrap a contentious nine-month-old redevelopment plan for the White Street parking lot.

At the same time, it knocked out, without much explanation, three of the five developers vying to build a parking deck, and more, on the 2.3-acre site.

September 14, 2017 - 8:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PARKING GARAGE HEARING SLATED

The council will hold a public forum on proposals for the White Street parking site later this month, says Councilman Mike Whelan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Almost six months after they were submitted and three months after they were the subject of hasty presentations, five proposed plans for the redevelopment of Red Bank’s main downtown parking lot will finally get a public hearing, redbankgreen has learned.

September 11, 2017 - 9:52 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BROWNSTONES PROJECT APPROVED

Mumford’s plan calls for the demolition of six existing structures, including the blocklong factory building at 9 Catherine Street, above. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank real estate developer Roger Mumford won plaudits Thursday night from neighbors — along with zoning board approval — for a 22-unit townhouse project on a West Side industrial tract.

September 8, 2017 - 9:15 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: OCEANFIRST TO BUY HOV HQ

Hovnanian’s headquarters in Red Bank, as seen from the borough library. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

OceanFirst Financial plans to buy the Red Bank headquarters of homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises, redbankgreen has learned.

September 7, 2017 - 1:11 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: HOVNANIAN SELLING HOME OFFICE

Hovnanian’s headquarters in Red Bank, as seen from Maple Cove at the foot of Maple Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

[This post has been updated with comments from Mayor Pasquale Menna.]

Eleven years after moving in, dramatically shrunken homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises is selling its gleaming Red Bank headquarters and moving to Matawan, redbankgreen has learned.

September 7, 2017 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: TAILOR, JEWELER, VAPE SHOP…

Jeweler Evan Piscitelli, left, and tailor Vinny Sciortino have teamed up in space on Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn could almost have been ripped from the Red Bank Register of a century ago, with news about a haberdashery, a jeweler, a “gentlemen’s club” tonsorial, a rug store and a smoke shop opening downtown.

Ok, that last one’s more a vape shop, but still. Read on for details.

September 6, 2017 - 7:48 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: UP NEXT: MUMFORD TOWNHOUSES

A rendering of builder Roger Mumford’s proposed Brownstones at Red Bank project. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank real estate developer Roger Mumford is a busy man these days: restoring the National Historic Register T. Thomas Fortune house and adding 31 apartments to the Drs. James Parker Boulevard property; completing the 12-unit affordable housing project called Oakland Square at the corner of Oakland and West streets; and simultaneously vying for the right to redevelop what’s easily the hottest patch of asphalt in town — the borough-owned White Street parking lot.

Meantime, he’s got another project in the works, one slated to go before the zoning board for review Thursday night: a plan for townhouses on the footprint of old factory buildings just a stone’s throw from his West Side office.

September 5, 2017 - 7:15 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: WORK HALTED OVER SAFETY ISSUES

Red Bank officials have ordered a work stoppage at Riverwalk Commons, a 24-unit luxury apartment building under construction at 24 Mechanic Street.

September 1, 2017 - 11:15 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: APARTMENTS FINALLY UNDERWAY

There’s a big hole in the ground surrounded by a fence on Mechanic Street in Red Bank.

What’s Going on Here? Click ‘read more to find out.

August 30, 2017 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: GARAGE BACKERS AIM AT LOGJAM

Roger Mumford, seen here in 2015, has offered a new plan for the White Street parking lot site that garage backers hope will dissolve political opposition to development. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

One of the five would-be builders of a downtown parking garage has told Red Bank officials he’s willing to build a 773-space parking garage on White Street in exchange for the right to erect 100 homes next door.

Garage advocates touted the informal proposal Wednesday night in the hopes of busting through a political logjam, one they believe has been erected by the three Democrats on the six-member borough council.

August 24, 2017 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: KEEPING IT ALL UNDER ONE ROOF

Butcher Stew Goldstein is the new owner of 110 Monmouth Street, where Max Olivera and Alberto Bautista, below, plan to open a restaurant called El Azteca Grill next door to Monmouth Meats. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

With a butcher shop, recording studio and, until recently, a restaurant under its roof, 110 Monmouth Street could serve as a neat little microcosm of downtown Red Bank.

Now, with butcher Stew Goldstein‘s recent acquisition of the modest-sized two-story brick building, plus a deal to fill the first-floor restaurant vacancy with a new Mexican-American eatery, the tableau seems to have been secured for the foreseeable future.

August 22, 2017 - 9:25 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CATCH TO TAKE GOTHAM SPACE

Catch will relocate from its present spot at 9 Broad Street to the home of Gotham, five doors away, and will be replaced by a Mexican restaurant. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

This edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has a plateful of news from the Red Bank food scene, with two food-related businesses closing, one moving and another opening.

Also: pet acupuncture.

August 11, 2017 - 10:36 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: NO MOVEMENT ON PARKING

The 2.3-acre White Street lot. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Nearly two months after five builders presented concept plans for a parking solution on White Street, Red Bank officials have yet to schedule a promised public comment session on the proposals.

That appeared to contribute to frustration voiced during the public comment portion of the council’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.

August 10, 2017 - 8:49 am | Comments ()

SHREWSBURY: ACTIVITY AT SUNOCO SITE

More than a decade after Duckworth’s Sunoco station in Shrewsbury went out of business, the Broad Street property has been enclosed by fence and site work is underway.

What’s Going on Here? Click ‘read more’ to find out.
Read More »

August 7, 2017 - 4:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: RAYRAP HOME PLAN WINS FINAL OK

A yellow border outlines the site of developer Ray Rapcavage’s Azalea Gardens project, with Harding Road at the bottom, Clay Street to the left and Hudson Avenue at right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Demolition of a house destroyed by fire five years ago could begin as early as this month as the first step toward the creation of a new 18-home community at Red Bank’s Five Corners, developer Ray Rapcavage told redbankgreen last week.

August 7, 2017 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: RIVERCENTER TAKES STANCE ON LOT

RiverCenter took no position on the relative merits of five developers’ concept plans for the White Street lot. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

It’s 500 or nothing, says Red Bank RiverCenter.

The downtown promotion agency says in an “open letter” to elected officials that it “cannot and will not” support a plan for a parking garage on White Street that doesn’t yield a net gain of 500 parking spaces on the 2.3-acre site — and none of the five plans submitted by would-be developers currently meets that target, it claims.

Mike Whelan, the councilmember who leads the parking committee, called the organization’s statement a “flip-flop” and a “disservice” to the downtown.

August 4, 2017 - 6:31 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CRAFT BREWERY LEASES FIREHOUSE

John Cocozza and partners plan to open a craft brewery called Ross Brewing Company in the former Liberty Hose Company firehouse on White Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

In another sign of a possible tsunami of craft beer coming to downtown Red Bank, the former Liberty Hose Company firehouse on White Street has been leased to a startup brewery, the principals said Thursday.

August 3, 2017 - 12:15 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: MISSION HOUSE RISING

Something’s going up in prefab pieces on Herbert Street in Red Bank.

What’s Going on Here? Click ‘read more’ to find out.

Read More »

July 25, 2017 - 1:30 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: STATION APARTMENTS OK’D

Architect Nelson Benavides discussing plans for 170 Monmouth Street, seen in in two renderings from the west. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A plan to turn a five-story office building opposite the Red Bank train station into rental apartments cleared its first hurdle at the borough zoning board Thursday night.

July 21, 2017 - 7:25 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: APARTMENTS ON ZONING AGENDA

A plan by a Jersey City-based developer to convert a five-story Red Bank office building to apartments, and add 16 units, is on Thursday night’s zoning board agenda. See redbankgreen‘s earlier reporting here.

Read More »

July 20, 2017 - 7:15 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CRAFT BEER MICROBREWERY OK’D

The plan calls for a craft-beer microbrewery in the former ARC thrift shop space at 77 Monmouth Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

For the second time in recent weeks, a craft beer operation has confirmed plans for a microbrewery in downtown Red Bank.

And according to Google Maps, it’s less than 500 feet away from the first.

July 19, 2017 - 3:30 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: RETAIL RETURNING TO EMPTY SPACE

The former shoe store space at 18 Broad Street is expected to house a new women’s clothing store in September. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

To the relief of downtown restaurateurs, a large vacant space is the heart of downtown will resume life as a retail business instead of joining the competition for diners, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has learned.

July 17, 2017 - 8:50 am | Comments ()

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