Long Branch apartments, businesses OK'd next to Springsteen 'Born to Run' cottage

Dan Radel, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read
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LONG BRANCH - If you want to live next to some rock 'n' roll lore, a three-story 26-unit apartment building was approved on West End Court, two doors down from the cottage where Bruce Springsteen wrote his breakthrough "Born to Run" album.

The developer, West End LB Development LLC, told the Asbury Park Press that it intends to offer the two-bedroom units, which are a couple of blocks from the beach, for rent.

Along with the draw of the beach and Springsteen lore, the West End is a neighborhood of small shops, restaurants and residences that has been likened to a city-village atmosphere by residents. Following a 2012 fire that destroyed three buildings across from the park, the section has attracted new growth.

Jason Fichter of InSite Engineering, the project's engineer and planner, said the apartment building will be "another big step in beautifying the neighborhood," which has seen an old, vacant movie theater replaced by a stone synagogue with ground-floor retail.

A design of a proposed mixed-use residential building at 6 West End Court in Long Branch as seen in the Long Branch Planning Board documents. Design was done by Monteforte Architectural Studio
A design of a proposed mixed-use residential building at 6 West End Court in Long Branch as seen in the Long Branch Planning Board documents. Design was done by Monteforte Architectural Studio

West End: Long Branch apartment plan just two doors from Springsteen's 'Born to Run' cottage

The void left by the fire as been filled in with a pair of mixed-use buildings with ground-floor retail and residential units on the above floors.

The new building will also have nearly 1,400 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, keeping with the specifications of the West End Design Overlay, or WEDO, the new zoning that was created during the public hearings and legal battles over the synagogue a few years ago.

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The building location is 6 West End Court. Currently, there is a small professional building with upstairs apartments on the site and a parking lot. That building will be demolished for the new apartments. The building will be 38 feet in height and cover about 35,000 square feet.

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A proposed plan would tear down the building at 6 West End Court in Long Branch for a mixed-use residential building. The building is two doors down from 7 1/2 West Court, the bungalow that Bruce Springsteen stayed at when he wrote the album "Born to Run," seen here painted blue on March 18, 2022.
A proposed plan would tear down the building at 6 West End Court in Long Branch for a mixed-use residential building. The building is two doors down from 7 1/2 West Court, the bungalow that Bruce Springsteen stayed at when he wrote the album "Born to Run," seen here painted blue on March 18, 2022.

The developer was granted some variances from the city's Planning Board, including one for parking. The city's ordinance required 72 parking spaces, whereas the developer proposed 59. Some of those spaces will be placed on an un-named alley between West End Court and New Court that presently has no marked spaces for parking.

Fichter said the apartments will provide more residential density to support the West End's commercial businesses as well as conserve, if not increase surrounding property values.

As far as Springsteen's legacy is concerned, the old "green shotgun shack" at 7½ West End Court that he rented during the mid-1970s when he wrote "Born to Run," will not be touched. The shack is a light shade of blue these days.

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When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Long Branch approves apartments near Springsteen Born to Run cottage