59°F clear sky

RED BANK: DOWNTOWN APARTMENTS OK’D

The project would replace a one-story commercial building at Mechanic Street and Globe Court. (Rendering by GRO Architects. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThe Red Bank zoning board gave unanimous approval to plans for a new 40-unit downtown apartment building Thursday night.

The action followed design changes by developer Mazin ‘Patrick’ Kalian that eliminated one story, 10 dwelling units and the need for key variances.

More →

RED BANK: APARTMENT PLAN SHRINKS

The project would replace the one-story commercial building above. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThe would-be developer of an apartment building proposed for downtown Red Bank has lopped off a floor, redbankgreen has learned.

With that, builder Mazin ‘Patrick’ Kalian‘s project, at 19-29 Mechanic Street, would shrink by 20 percent, to 40 apartments instead of the previously proposed 50, and eliminate the need for key variances.

More →

RED BANK: FIVE-STORY PLAN CHALLENGED

A rendering of the proposed One Globe Court project at Mechanic Street and Globe Court. (Rendering by GRO Architects. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njQuestions about the need for a fifth floor surrounded a plan for 50 new apartments in downtown Red Bank Thursday night.

Capping the building at four stories would eliminate the need for height and parking variances, a member of the borough zoning board suggested.

More →

RED BANK: FIFTY-UNIT PLAN UP FOR REVIEW

The builder of the Mechanic Street apartments at left above hopes to erect 50 more across the street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA plan for 50 new apartments in downtown Red Bank is scheduled for review by the borough zoning board Thursday night.

More →

RED BANK: FIFTY APARTMENTS PROPOSED

A depiction of the proposed development, with Mechanic Street on the left and Globe Court on the right. (Rendering by GRO Architects. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThe developer of one of Red Bank’s newest apartment buildings hopes to create a larger one just across the street, according to a recent filing with the borough.

More →

RED BANK: PUBLIC INPUT ON PARKING SOUGHT

The public is invited to weigh in next month on a study now underway to assess parking needs in downtown Red Bank.

Details below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

More →

RED BANK: RIVERCENTER KICKS IN ON PARKING

The borough council is expected to choose a consultant next week to assess parking needs in downtown Red Bank. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Stalled since the November election, an effort to address parking issues in downtown Red Bank appears about to get back on track next week.

That’s when the borough council is expected to designate a parking consultant, to be paid for in part with funds from Red Bank RiverCenter.

More →

RED BANK: LOOKING UPSTAIRS FOR PARKING

Local officials say the usage mix and vacancy rates of upper floors downtown factors into parking needs and taxes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

As the Red Bank council goes back to the drawing board in search of  parking solutions after last year’s abandoned flirtation with five developers, local officials admit they’ve got a problem upstairs.

They don’t know how much parking to allocate for upper-floor office and residential tenants downtown. Nobody, it turns out, has been keeping tabs.

More →

RED BANK: DEVELOPER CLARIFIES PLAN STATUS

The prospective buyer of a high-profile  corner in Red Bank is planning to erect an office building there, but not the one shown on his website, he told redbankgreen Wednesday night.

More →

RED BANK: PRESERVATIONISTS CONCERNED

A website posting by the prospective buyer of two Red Bank buildings listed on an inventory of historic properties hints at big changes to come. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank preservationists expressed concern in recent days over the pending sale of two downtown buildings they believe have historic significance.

More →

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.

More →

RED BANK: ACCESS AGREEMENT UNDER FIRE

riverwalk 070512Riverwalk, seen below in a 2012 rendering, would replace the building at 24-30 Mechanic Street, above. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

riverwalk 100412A plan to give tenants access to a yet-to-be built Red Bank apartment building via a borough parking lot came under fire Wednesday night, 10 years after it cleared its first hurdle.

At issue: whether the town had boxed itself in legally, getting nothing in return.

More →

RED BANK: ZONERS QUESTION HOUSING PLAN

55 w front 040215 1An architect’s rendering, above, shows the elevated patio of the proposed Element apartments, with parking underneath. Below, a view of the property, which includes a strip alongside the old Liberty Hose firehouse on White Street. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

55 w front 080315Questions about parking adequacy and affordable housing continued to dominate as the Red Bank zoning board resumed hearings on a 35-unit apartment building proposed for West Front Street Thursday night.

Dubbed the Element, the project would be built on an irregularly shaped, three-quarter-acre vacant lot facing Riverside Gardens Park at one end and White Street, alongside the former Liberty Hose firehouse, on the other.

More →

RED BANK: NO VOTE ON WEST FRONT UNITS

55 w front 040215 2After three hours of testimony and few questions from zoning board members, a hearing on a proposed 35-unit apartment complex fronting on West Front Street in Red Bank ended without reaching a vote Thursday night.

The hearing on the project, located opposite Riverside Gardens Park and called the Element, is scheduled to resume June 18. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

 

RED BANK: APARTMENT PROPOSAL ON AGENDA

55 w front 040215 1A zoning board hearing on a proposed 35-unit apartment complex fronting on West Front Street opposite Riverside Gardens Park in Red Bank is scheduled to resume after a two-month interval Thursday night.

Testimony on traffic flow and parking is expected, with a possible vote on the plan, called 55 West Front. The board meets at borough hall at 6:30 p.m. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

 

RED BANK: CLARITY ASKED ON W. FRONT PLAN

55 w front 040215 2A photo montage, above, showing the West Front Street elevation of the proposed building. Below, a rendering of a deck atop the garage, also visible at right in the image above. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

55 w front 040215 1The quest for approval of a proposed 35-unit apartment building in downtown Red Bank was slowed Thursday night by another  document already in the developer’s pocket: an eight-year-old plan for 27 condos at the same site.

Members of the zoning board and neighbors of the proposed 55 West Front Street project, located opposite Riverside Gardens Park, were frequently flummoxed by how variances the developer is now seeking differed from those obtained in 2007.

“I wasn’t here when the original plan was approved, and I don’t know who on this board was,” a clearly frustrated board member Sean Murphy told the applicant’s lawyer, Peter Falvo.

More →

RED BANK: APARTMENT PLAN ON AGENDA

55 w front 010715 At 55 West Front Street, a developer is seeking approval for 35 rental units on a vacant lot previously approved for 27 condos. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

55 w front 010715 2After a nearly eight-year interim, new plans for a prominent Red Bank parcel are scheduled to go before the borough zoning board Thursday night.

The proposal, for a vacant lot opposite Riverside Gardens Park on West Front Street, replaces a plan approved in 2007 for 27 condos to replace a since-demolished Meridian nursing home.

More →

RED BANK: HOMEBUILDERS EYE WEST FRONT

76-78 w front 010715Under concept plans filed by KHov, a building at Maple Avenue and West Front Street, center above, would be replaced by eight townhouses. Less than a block away, a developer is seeking approval for 35 rental units, shown below, on a vacant lot already approved for 27 condos. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

55 w front 010715 2More multi-unit homebuilders have their eyes on Red Bank. West Front Street, in particular.

Two proposals that would add 43 new residences to the stretch of West Front between Maple Avenue and English Plaza have been filed with the borough planning board.

More →

RIVERWALK PLAN REVISED AND REVIVED

A rendering of the planned Riverwalk project, which is to replace the building at 24-30 Mechanic Street, below. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

After six years of dormancy, a 24-unit residential building planned for Mechanic Street in Red Bank is about to go into the ground, says its developer.

Only, not as far into the ground as initially expected.

Builder Tony Busch Sr. won unanimous borough zoning board approval last week to modify plans ok’d in 2006 for a four-story project dubbed Riverwalk. The changes include eliminating of all retail space at the ground level and replacing it with at-grade parking beneath three stories of residences. The original plan called for subterranean parking garage.

The project could begin going into the ground as early as next spring, except that “there’s no hole to dig,” Busch told redbankgreen.

More →

RUMSON LOTS TO BE AUCTIONED NEXT MONTH

Two borough-owned lots are headed for the the auction block. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Two residential building lots created by the November demolition of Rumson’s former police station are expected to yield at least $800,000 for the town.

The borough council agreed Tuesday night to auction the adjoining Center Street lots separately, each with a minimum bid of $400,000, Administrator Tom Rogers tells redbankgreen.

More →