By CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS
A proposal for 21 townhomes bounded by Cookman Avenue, St. James Place, Lake Avenue and Wesley Lake Drive in Asbury Park has been reviewed by the City Council acting as the city’s Redevelopment Agency and sent on to the Planning Board for its ruling.
The proposal by Asbury Partners LLC, with a business address on Avenue of the Americans in New York City, is for 200 Cookman Ave., a 35,200 square-foot parcel that currently houses a one- story building with surface parking lot and landscaping, according to the proposal presented by Jennifer Phillips Smith, of the Gibbons Law firm and signed off by applicant Brian A. Cheripka.
There would be a building of four stories fronting on Cookman Avenue and transitioning down to a building of three stories on Lake Avenue. The building height would tap out at 53 feet three inches and each rooftop would include penthouse space limited to 1/3rd of the area of the surface floor below it. There would be trellis and pergolas for shading and ambiance.
The property is in the waterfront redevelopment zone and requires several design waivers mostly related to building materials and structures.
The two buildings would be separated by an interior alley. Townhomes on Cookman Avenue would consist of 14 attached units, with seven townhomes fronting on Cookman and another seven units would have access via an interior alley.
A three-story building fronting on Lake Avenue would accommodate seven units. The design includes a ground-floor breezeway allowing access to the amenity deck which would feature a 70-foot long lap pool as well as a barbecue area. The units on Lake Avenue would have private patios. The amenity area would be about 6,000-square-feet, according to the plans.
The development would add a “pocket park” of about 350 square feet along Lake Avenue about half way between St. James Place and Wesley Lake Drive. Seating, landscaping and an area for displaying public art would be included. The park would be maintained by the homeowners association.
The units on Cookman and its alley space would have two parking spaces: one enclosed and one driveway space. The units on Lake Avenue would have two enclosed spaces.
According to Architect Frank Minrvini of the Hoboken firm of MVMK Architecture and Design, the development “has a pedestrian-oriented design with raised entrances, stoops and landscaping” as part of the streetscape. It would be “compatible and extend Asbury Park’s special oceanside character in a contemporary way,” he said, quoting from language in the waterfront redevelopment plan.
