By PATRICIA MCDANIEL
Some “modest” amendments were made this week to an eight-story condominium/commercial project adjacent to the Wonder Bar at Fourth and Ocean avenues in Asbury Park.
Somerset Development came before the Planning Board Monday night to make the changes to the project already approved by the board in 2023.
The major change involves reducing the number of residential units from 155 to 112 units, the architect for the project said, prompted by a study of market trends that suggests buyers want the option for larger units for year-round family living.
David J. Minno of Minno and Wasko Architects and Planners, New Jersey, said the development team has spent the past several months studying market trends, as well as working through architectural plans from an engineering standpoint – all in the process of bringing the approved concept to reality.
The project is in the Waterfront Redevelopment Area, and is adjacent to the Wonder Bar. It is located at 115 Fourth Ave., at 1209 Ocean Ave. and 150 Fifth Ave. (Block 4105, Lots 1.01). The area of the site is 83,763 square feet, according to the board.
The residential units have been described by the company as “ultra luxury,” with top-floor units likened to “villas in the sky.”
Minno said the plans remain virtually the same – the height of the building is still 130 feet, for example, and the “box” of the building is the same, with some minor adjustments.
But making the units larger is a response to the market, Minno said.
“These additional bedrooms will accommodate a family type of living – and a desire to live year-round in Asbury Park – not just seasonally,” he said.
The “small but meaningful” changes will also improve interior layouts and circulation, he said.
He then produced a series of renderings that compared the 2023 development as approved by the board with the proposed amendments.
The number of parking spaces would also be reduced under the new plan from 264 spaces to 237 spaces in an “internal parking structure,” according to the board agenda.
However, the development team noted that the number of parking spaces still exceeds requirements at 2.12 vehicles per unit.
The project has also been approved for commercial space. The commercial space is now reduced from 9,390 square feet to 8,450 square feet.
There is indoor and outdoor recreational space, including an outdoor pool and spa pool, for example, and barbeque area and a terrace green space.
One feature the architect said is unique is a “beach alley” that will allow residents to enter the building from the beach through a door now moved to the side of the site (no longer in the center). Residents could store sandy beach accessories in designated spots there.
Board members in attendance questioned several details of certain exterior features of the plan, such as the location of mechanicals in relation to rooftop residential features. Board members also ensured that lighting on the terrace would not be glaring for neighbors. The six members of the Planning Board in attendance all voted to approve the amended site plan.
Inspired by Somerset, launched by Ralph Zucker in 1995, is based in Holmdel, site of the Bell Works project by the company that “re-imagined” the former Bell Labs complex.
