Rendering of proposed project.
By PAT MCDANIEL
After tabling a vote at its past two meetings, the Asbury Park City Council seems ready to act June 26 on a redevelopment plan for a site on Memorial Drive.
A second reading and public hearing on the plan at 1201 Memorial Drive, is scheduled at the council’s June 26 meeting.
The ordinance was tabled June 12 so the council and residents could hear a presentation of a new traffic study for the site – a study area residents had said at past meetings was a necessity before proceeding.
And members of the public were again allowed to comment about the proposal for the now four-story, 126-unit residential plus retail apartment building. It would be located on Block 203, Lot 5, between Fourth and Fifth avenues on Memorial Drive, west of the train tracks.
The project has changed shape and character over the years since the developers first approached the council in 2020. The structure is now four stories, not five, and includes the ground floor retail, public art and balconies, the architect said.
“Our goal is to make a building welcomed by the community,” said architect Daniel Condatore, a founding partner of Mode Architects, Asbury Park, noting that over the years the design has changed to meet concerns of nearby residents.
But traffic and parking worries still loom large for neighbors in the adjoining residential streets where many residents rely on on-street parking, as they have said at this and past meetings.
While the project calls for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, there is still just over one parking spot for each apartment – 132 spaces, Condatore said in his recap to the council June 12.
So neighbors say they still expect tenants will need more parking – leading to more competition for parking spaces on the nearby streets now used by existing residents.
And there is concern about more traffic in the area, with some residents saying that traffic is already too busy on Fourth Avenue, which is proposed as the main entrance and exit to the building.
The traffic study was presented June 12 by Gary W. Dean of Dolan and Dean Consulting Engineers, which includes an Ocean Grove location.
Dean explained the following conclusions, including recommending the single access site to the proposed apartment building from Fourth Avenue, where a traffic light will be installed this year at Memorial Drive under another city initiative. Here are the conclusions:
A residential/mixed-use development would have a positive traffic impact by significantly reducing potential traffic from the prior site use as well the uses permitted in the current B Zone (commercial uses).
There would be less heavy truck traffic with the redevelopment option, which would also not require backing into the site from the adjacent streets.
The site can be safely and efficiently served with a single access and the redevelopment option could eliminate at least eight existing, wide and ill-defined driveways all of which would have negatively impacted pedestrian activity on the adjacent sidewalks.
Access to Fourth Avenue is the most efficient and safest access option primarily due to the imminent traffic signal installation.
Access to Memorial Drive is not recommended due to crash history and should be prohibited to minimize conflicts with greater traffic activity on Memorial Drive. Prohibiting site access would therefore improve safety and preserve the City’s improvement plan for the roadway.
Access to Fifth Avenue is a less efficient and less safe option compared to access via Fourth Avenue. (Dean noted that sight lines are impacted on Fifth due to angled parking at the Sunset Point strip mall.)
The entire traffic study is posted on the city website.
Here are some more details regarding the redevelopment resolution:
The proposed resolution says “the Council has determined that the effective Rehabilitation of the Area would be stimulated by adoption of the ‘1201 Memorial Drive Redevelopment Plan.’ ” It says that designating the location for redevelopment allows the municipality to “participate in the redevelopment and improvement.”
Here’s more on the thinking behind the redevelopment, according to the plan:
The Redevelopment Plan Area encompasses one lot, specifically a 1.55-acre corner lot, with frontage on Memorial Drive, Fourth Avenue, and Fifth Avenue. The Area envisions the redevelopment of the vacant underutilized lot, transforming it into a development that can create a cohesive built environment between the residential neighborhoods to the west and the larger footprint commercial buildings found along Memorial Avenue. The Area will serve as a transitional area between the commercial and residential areas of the City, while creating a sense of place that promotes a high quality of life, economic support to the City’s downtown, and a diversity of household incomes.”
And these are the objectives, cited in the plan:
- Promote redevelopment of a long-vacant property along one of the City’s primary north-south corridors, Memorial Drive.
- Create diverse housing opportunities in the form of multi-family residential development that accommodates a mix of incomes and household sizes. This includes, but is not limited to, affordable housing set aside of not less than 20 percent.
- Promote economic development and growth for the City through the promotion of mixed-use development, with an emphasis on residential uses that will lead to more residents within walking and biking distance of the shops, services and activities of the downtown.
- Maintain the overall character and quality of life for existing City residents by permitting uses that are sensitive to the surrounding area (particularly residences adjacent to the west) and limiting impacts from the Redevelopment Area, such as lighting and noise.
- Ensure a unique sense of place is established that complements the character and scale of the City.
- Incorporate visible public art into new development through engagement with local artists or artist groups.
Paul Millstein, vice president and Head of Development for Douglas Development Corporation of Washington, DC, also spoke at the June 12 meeting. He said he sees many benefits to the company’s proposed project.
For example, he said the development will add to the tax base of the city, as well as add to the “vibrancy” of an already attractive residential area by making use of what is now a vacant site.
It will also add the affordable housing units, which, he added, will be constructed at the same level of quality as the rest of the building.
Millstein said the retail shops planned for the ground level should not produce heavy traffic and will be “small, boutique” shops that can serve new apartment residents, as well as the immediate community in the neighborhood, creating a “walkable community” feature.
