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RED BANK: URBAN OUTFITTERS BUILDING SOLD

hot topicOne of Red Bank’s landmark commercial buildings has a new owner, redbankgreen has learned.

Two other downtown buildings have also changed hands recently.

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RED BANK: BROAD STREET ‘VAULT’ SOLD

After a long-overdue sprucing-up and revival as office space, a prominent building in downtown Red Bank changed hands late last month, redbankgreen has learned.

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RED BANK: ZONING BOARD RESUMES WORK

A two-family home would be created in a structure now used for offices at 234 Maple Avenue. (Google Maps photo. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Sidelined for five montD-19 pandemic, Red Bank’s zoning board is scheduled to get back to the business of deciding variance requests Thursday night.

On the agenda: a marina fuel tank and the conversion of offices to residential use.

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RED BANK: BOARD SUED OVER TWO DECISIONS

red bank, nj, vna, 176 riverside, saxumThe owners of the Colony House apartments, at right, claim the plan for the VNA site, at left, violates their property rights. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Two months after approving one of the largest development projects in Red Bank history, the borough planning board has been sued over the decision, redbankgreen has learned.

The suit arrives as the board is defending itself in a lawsuit concerning a proposed Hampton Inn just across the street.

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RED BANK: SHELL GETS SHOP OK ON THIRD TRY

red bank shell stationThe car wash at left is to be replaced by a convenience store. (April, 2019 photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

After a favorable zoning change last year, Red Bank’s lone Shell station won approval to add a convenience store Monday night.

A neighbor called the proposal “lipstick on a pig.” The planning board’s chairman called it “a better pig.”

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RED BANK: SHELL TO TRY YET AGAIN

RED BANK NJ SHELLThe latest plan calls for replacing the car wash, at left above, with a convenience store. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Five months after yanking a plan to add a Dunkin’ coffee shop, the owner of Red Bank ‘s lone Shell station will once again try for a convenience store.

Station owner Waseem Chaudhary’s proposal is  the third he’s floated in the past seven years.

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RED BANK: SAXUM PLAN APPROVED

Red bank 176 Riverside saxumSaxum relocated the proposed  pedestrian plaza shown in this rendering from the Riverside Avenue side of the project to the Bodman Place side. (Rendering by MVMK Architecture. Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

One of the largest development projects in Red Bank history won planning board approval Monday night.

The OK for 210 apartments at Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place requires developer Saxum Real Estate to seek state approval for a traffic light there. But the project can go ahead even if the request fails.

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RED BANK: SAXUM HEARING POSTPONED

red bank, nj, vna, 176 riverside, saxum
hot topic red bank nj
The Red Bank planning board hearing, scheduled for Monday night, on a proposal for 210 apartments on Riverside Avenue has been rescheduled. 

 

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RED BANK: BOARD AIRS SAXUM PLAN HURDLES

red bank saxum plan 090419 4A rendering depicts the proposed plaza at Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place that board members raised safety concerns about. (Rendering by Arterial Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Red Bank planning board members aired numerous misgivings about one of the largest development plans in borough history Monday night.

High on the list that developer Saxum Real Estate is expected to address: traffic and pedestrian safety issues. More →

RED BANK: PLAZA FOCUS OF SAXUM HEARING

176 riverside red bank saxumA rendering depicts the Bodman Place side of the proposed apartment project. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

The fate of one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history remained unresolved Monday night.

At the fourth planning board hearing on the 210-unit apartment complex proposed for the site of the former VNA headquarters, attention centered largely on the wisdom of putting a public plaza on busy Riverside Avenue.

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RED BANK: POOP & MORE DELAY SAXUM VOTE

red bank saxum plan 090419 4A rendering displayed at the planning board depicts a public plaza on the Riverside Avenue side of the proposed apartment project. (Rendering by Arterial. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Unanswered questions held up a planning board vote on one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history Wednesday night.

Among them: where will the poop deposited on the rooftop dog runs go?

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RED BANK: SAXUM CONFRONTS TRAFFIC ISSUE

red bank 176 riverside 080519 3.jpgA rendering shows the Riverside Avenue facade of the proposed apartment project. (Rendering by MVMK Architecture. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Like many motorists, a traffic engineer for one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history found himself confronting an intersection likened to “Russian roulette” Monday night. More →

RED BANK: SHELL YANKS DUNKIN’ PLAN

RED BANK NJ SHELLThe plan called for remodeling the gas station and replacing the car wash, at left above, with a drive-thru Dunkin’ shop. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA plan to create a Dunkin’ coffee shop in Red Bank  for Parkway-bound commuters is dead.

A lawyer for the owner of the Shell gas station at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue tells redbankgreen the proposal has been withdrawn.

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RED BANK: SAXUM TRAFFIC Q&A DELAYED

Red bank 176 Riverside saxumA rendering shows one of the two buildings proposed  for the former VNA site, with Riverside Avenue at left and Bodman Place at right. (Rendering by MVMK Architecture. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

It was a night of “hold that thought” as hearings got underway on one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history Monday night.

At a planning board session on a 210-unit apartment complex proposed for a busy stretch of Riverside Avenue, neighbors who packed the room were repeatedly advised to defer their questions and comments on traffic until the developer’s traffic consultant testifies.

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RED BANK: SPEAKEASY ON ZONING AGENDA

21-23 broad red bank The former Agostino antique store space at 21 Broad Street, vacant for seven years, is the site of a proposed food market and ‘speakeasy.’ (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njOn Thursday’s Red Bank busy zoning board agenda: a proposal for a downtown food market and speakeasy, plus a plan to build a new house on the site of a devastating fire, and changes outside the Two River Theater.

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RED BANK: DOWNTOWN APARTMENTS DEBUT

red bank element 55 west front stResidents of all 35 units at the Element will have access to the deck, and five will have balconies that immediately adjoin it. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Finalizing a development process that began a dozen years ago, a new 35-unit apartment building made its debut in downtown Red Bank Wednesday.

The near-completion of the Element, built on a former rubble-strewn West Front Street lot, marks the end of an odyssey that included a market pivot and pitched battles at the borough council.

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RED BANK: PLAN WITH MICROBREWERY OK’D

42 monmouth st., red bank, njThe long-vacant former home of Fameabilia will get one additional floor instead of two under the approval. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njDowntown Red Bank may soon be home to another microbrewery.

Matawan restaurateur Florin Lupu won zoning board approval Thursday night for his plan to build one on Monmouth Street after volunteering to lop one story off a proposed two-story addition.

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RED BANK: MASSIVE SAXUM PLAN FILED

176 riverside elevation riverside ave side RED BANKA rendering of the Riverside Avenue side of the multiuse project proposed for the former Visiting Nurse Association headquarters site. (Plan by Dynamic Engineering. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

What could be the largest development project in Red Bank history would put 210 living units and more on a 2.7-acre parcel, redbankgreen has learned.

The project proposed by Saxum Real Estate would also include a 326-vehicle parking garage, co-working space and retail or restaurant space, according to a detailed plan filed last month.

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RED BANK: EXPANSION & BREWERY ON AGENDA

red bank 42 monmouthThe building at 42 Monmouth Street would get two additional floors as shown above if the plan is approved. (Rendering by Larry C. Johnson. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

On pause since last September, a proposal to triple the size of a downtown building — and install a microbrewery on the ground floor — is scheduled to return to the Red Bank zoning board Thursday night.

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RED BANK: RED ROCK, SECRET STASH WIN OKS

red bank red rock Red Rock Tap + Grill will be permitted to enclose some of its rooftop seasonally and make other site changes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Rock Tap + Grill can convert some of its rooftop space to year-round dining under a decision by Red Bank’s planning board Monday night.

Also, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash can keep its splashy, ordinance-breaking window treatment, the board ruled.

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RED BANK: HOUSING & MORE PACKS AGENDA

red bank vna 176 riverside aveThe former home of the Visiting Nurse Association is seen as the answer to a chunk of Red Bank’s affordable housing obligation. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

A plan to resolve Red Bank’s so-called Mount Laurel affordable housing obligation is up for resolution Wednesday night.

Also up for votes: a series of small-bore zoning changes, help for motorists at a dicey corner and more. Here’s a look at the busy agenda.

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RED BANK: HOTEL DELAY REQUEST REJECTED

red bank hampton innA rendering of the proposed Hampton Inn, with the former VNA building at right. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

In a move that could torpedo a hotly debated hotel at the northern entry to Red Bank, the planning board Monday night shot down a request by the would-be developer for more time to get the project in the ground.
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RED BANK: DUNKIN’ CONTINUES SLOW DRIP

red bank shell dunkin 032119A rendering of the new Shell station and Dunkin’ shop at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue. (Drawing by Dynamic Engineering PC. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njAfter an 11-week lull, the owner of a Red Bank gas station continued his bid to build a Dunkin’ shop for Parkway-bound commuters Thursday night with a revised plan.

This one shrinks the proposed coffee shop, eliminates interior seating and adds more space for vehicles to use the drive-thru service.

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