Asbury Park developer cuts 20 apartments from plan, but neighbors fear parking pains

ASBURY PARK - A developer presented his new concept for an apartment building at 1001 First Ave., cutting 20 apartments from his original plan.

The current concept consists of 114 residential apartments, which includes 23 affordable housing units, 137 parking spaces, an enclosed garage, bicycle storage and "green features."

The current projected apartment distribution includes 20 studio units, 28 one-bedroom units, 12 one-bed/one-den units, 31 two-bedroom units, four affordable one-bedroom units, 13 affordable two-bedroom units, and six affordable three-bedroom units.

Luke Rudowsky, owner of developer Rudowsky Development, presented the concept to the public at the city council meeting on Oct. 25 to gauge public feedback with hopes of getting approval from the City Council.

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"We were brought in because we have a good sense of the community," Rudowsky said.

The company has offices on Bond Street and he stated this was his 11th project in the city.

Rudowsky said "tenant needs, construction costs, and design preferences have changed drastically since the original redevelopment plan for 1001 First Ave. was conceived in 2017 and 2018."

Replacing the old plan

A previous redevelopment plan for the site adopted in March 2018 called for 80 apartments. However, the previous developer never broke ground. The city's Redevelopment Plan allows for the proposed development be amended and the new concept only requires two deviations from the original — the number of apartments and the total impervious coverage on the site, meaning hard surfaces like concrete and asphalt.

"We are proposing 114 units, down from the 134 (we) previously proposed. With that, we are keeping the 20% (affordable housing) set aside," Rudowsky said. "Initially there were 16 (affordable housing units) contemplated for this site, so there is a net increase in affordable housing."

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He added the proposed parking spaces breaks down to "1.2 spaces per unit" and meets the existing redevelopment plans. The original plan proposed two parking garage entrances; the current concept has one which "will save on street parking" according to Rudowsky.

"The location is between First and Second avenues, centrally located just behind Asbury Avenue and west of Main Street. The site as it exists today is vacant. There is an unsightly chain link fence," Rudowsky said. "If you're stepping out from The Lofts (condominium complex) across the street … you're staring at warehouses. It is not a very pleasurable experience for pedestrians."

He added "it gets dark" at the site at night after speaking with neighbors.

"It is not well lit, (the site) really deserves to have a building there to brighten up the area and add to the community," Rudowsky said.

There are contaminated soils on site.

"There are underground tanks on site. The previous owner did not report to the (Department of Environmental Protection), so we are facing fines on that. We want to clean this up, not just for our site but for the neighborhood. There is potential these contaminated waters can seep on to adjacent properties," Rudowsky said.

The cleanup will cost between $500,000 and $600,000, according to the developer's environmental professionals.

"(The site) has been vacant for over 25 years. There have been safety concerns. I talked to the neighbors, so we hope to clean this up and anchor the community," Rudowsky said.

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Worries from neighbors

Resident Rick Mortlock said he has lived in The Lofts across from the site for 13 years. "The (proposed) building in general is an attractive design and we seriously appreciate the increase in the setbacks. We have a tall building. This building is going to be tall and if you don't have those setbacks, you feel like you're closed in," Mortlock said.

He added he believes the increase in apartments "needs to be examined in terms of the impact on population density."

"We have three housing authority buildings, plus our building plus probably two dozen single-family homes, a total of 275 units in a square block," Mortlock said. "This amended plan seeks to increase the number of dwellings by 40%. That means a lot more cars and an increase in pedestrian traffic in an area that already has serious traffic."

He added that Bradley Elementary School "is right in the heart of all of that, with hundreds of parents" and children crossing at Comstock Street, Second Avenue and Pine Street, as well as Second Avenue and Langford Street.

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Resident Jordan Modell was even more concerned, worried it would make for a parking nightmare.

"We are dead set against this project as it is proposed," Modell said. "It would change the face of the West Side. It is not the Asbury Park that we know and love. It is way too dense."

He added that "there is going to be nowhere near enough parking spots for the people there.

"There will be no parking on the street, there will be no parking for people coming to visit that building. There will be no parking to visit us. There will be no parking for the laundry right around the corner. There are trucks stacked there now. We have no idea where they are going to go," Modell said.

"This is not something we should rush into, we should take a look at this plan and revise it so that it is convenient for the neighborhood," Modell said.

The council will vote at a future council meeting to decide to send the plan before the planning board or not. If they decide to send it before the planning board, the planning board will review the proposal before sending it back to the council for final approval.

Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park apartment building plans worry neighbors over parking