By PATRICIA MCDANIEL
Both the Asbury Park City Council and the public had a chance to learn more about another condo development planned for the city – for 54 units in two buildings at the northern end of the city.
And while some residents at the meeting decried the prospect of more construction – along with its property tax abatements, city officials noted that the project is part of Asbury Park’s long-term waterfront redevelopment plan.
The Views at North Shore is a project that calls for two buildings with off-street garage and surface parking to be constructed at the 200 block of the city where the Miramar and the Kingsley Arms are also located. The block is bounded by Deal Lake Drive and Eighth Avenue and Kingsley and Webb streets. The undeveloped lots were formerly used by the city for beach operations.
Asbury Partners and its affiliate APW Redeveloper will seek preliminary and final site plan approval, as well as design waivers, to construct the multifamily residential dwellings, according to statements from the developer attached to the recent meeting agenda.
But first, the developer presented the council with the concept for the structures, along with some changes recommended by the city’s Technical Review Committee.
The next step in the process is for the council “to adopt a subsequent redeveloper’s agreement and then for council to refer the project to the Planning Board, Michele Alonso, director of planning and redevelopment, said on behalf of the Technical Review Committee.
This week she added that there is no date set for when the matter will come before the council again.
So although the project approvals and ultimate construction are at least a few years away, the prospect of the development is “stressful,” said some residents of the area, speaking at the Sept. 11 meeting.
One couple who lives in the Miramar said their condo’s windows will face one of the structures and they fear the light and feel of their residence will change – and not for the better.
Plus, on-street parking is already difficult to come by on the weekends, said one of the residents, despite the developer’s limiting the loss of on-street parking to just five spaces, as noted at the presentation.
In response to a question from Mayor John Moor, representatives for the developer also said at the presentation that the structure meets setback requirements from the other structures on the block so no “shadow studies” were conducted.
According to the city’s Technical Review Committee, whose report can be found on the city website, the TRC met on May 1, 2024 to review the proposed redevelopment for Block 4302, Lot 2, 201-203 Eighth Avenue.
The parcel is bounded by Deal Lake Drive to the north, Kingsley Street to the east, Eighth Avenue to the south and Webb Street to the west within the North Shore district – all within the city’s Waterfront Redevelopment Area, according to the TRC.
One building will be located at the corner of Deal Lake Drive and Webb Street. The second building will be located at the corner of Kingsley Street and Eighth Avenue.
The project architect from MVMK Architecture and Design in Hoboken said the design of the buildings – a modern Mediterranean style – will suggest similar historic structures in the area such as the Santander, also on Deal Lake Drive.
Here are some facts about the development, included in the TRC report:
The project will consist of two buildings, each composed of 27 condominium flats on the approximately 1.248-acre property. Each building will be comprised of a total of four stories, with a mezzanine level to access the rooftop deck area. This is lower than the eight stories permitted in the zone.
The actual residential units will consist of three stories, with a one-story garage level constructed below the residential units.
Additional surface parking will also be available within an adjoining parking lot located between each building.
There are 27 units per building with two one-bedroom, 13 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom units. Each unit will have a bicycle storage space.
According to the TRC report, the garage access points for each building have been modified “such that the ingress and egress points are interior to the parking area on the site and not interfacing with the adjoining public rights-of-way.”
According to the TRC, the Waterfront Redevelopment Plan requires two parking spaces for each dwelling unit created as part of new construction on the site.
With 54 dwelling units, 108 off-street parking spaces are required. Colliers Engineering and Design of Holmdel are the engineers for the project and told the council that between garage stalls and the open spaces on the site there are 109 spaces proposed. He said there were 40 off-street spaces for the area, and that would be reduced to 35 for the project.
The proposed project conforms in minimum lot area, building height, and parking requirements. Various design waivers are required for architectural design, the TRC report noted, regarding certain window and door specifications.
The TRC also said: “Retaining walls should be constructed of a durable masonry material that matches the finish of the façade of building other than segmented concrete block. Bracketed balconies are preferred to better approximate the referenced building style. Alternatives for side street frontages and garage level openings should be explored to add interest to these surfaces. The Eighth Avenue and Webb Street facades, especially at the blank expanse of garage wall, should be redesigned to have more visual interest as the front facades.”
At the presentation one speaker criticized the 30-year tax abatement system for redevelopment construction that means taxpayers have to “take up the slack” to support the school budget. Payments In Lieu of Taxes, or PILOTS – are set payments rather than typical property taxes levied by various government entities – including school districts.
Mayor Moor, however, told the speaker that the city has negotiated the number of overall units to be constructed under redevelopment from about 3,200 potential units down to about 2,000, “which is good.”
As for the tax abatement agreement, it is a legally binding document agreed to years before, Moor said, and one the city can’t “unilaterally” change.
