Old Long Branch Casa Comida restaurant will be replaced by apartments, four new shops
LONG BRANCH - Casa Comida is long gone, and residents and visitors will soon see a new development on that property as they cross the bridge over Branchport Creek and enter city limits.
Galway Builders' plan for a 2½-story mixed-use apartment building was approved Tuesday by the Planning Board. The development, called Branchport Crossing, will have 48 market-rate apartments atop four new retail shops and a parking garage. The apartment breakdown is 22 one-bedroom units and 26 two-bedroom units. The total size of the building is 85,000 square feet.
Architecturally, the building will feature a gambrel design, a symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side, and balconies. A section of the building will front the water, but due to the irregular shape of the property, the building will take a kind of "serpentine design," according to James Monteforte, of Monteforte Architectural Studio in Ocean Township, who drew it up.
Donna Jennings, the developer's attorney, said Branchport Crossing will enhance the property, which serves as a gateway to the city, by demolishing the aging structure there now and adding a river walkway with a viewing patio along the water.
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Casa Comida, which had been a popular Mexican-style restaurant for 40 years, closed its doors in 2021 and has been empty since that time. Galway Builders, based in Eatontown, purchased the property in 2022 for about $1.5 million, according to Monmouth County property records. The property is made up of four lots and in preparing the site, Gateway Builders will consolidate the lots into a single two-acre lot.
The property is in a flood hazard zone and so the ground floor must sit 11 feet above the water elevation. The applicant testified that most of the storm water will be funneled to the Branchport Creek. Because the property is waterfront, the developer will need additional approvals, including a CAFRA permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection for building by the water.
The Branchport Crossing plan, a permitted use in the C-3 zone which mixes commercial and residential uses, was unanimously approved by the Planning Board, though one resident was uneasy about it.
Daniel Brownridge expressed concern about putting traffic on Berdan Place, a narrow dead-end residential street that runs adjacent to the property's southern boundary line. The developer will be adding two entrances/exits onto that street where Casa Comida never had any. Brownridge said its hard enough to get one car down that road, let alone two.
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The developer's traffic engineer said the majority of traffic is expected to use the development's two entrances and exits on Branchport Avenue. The developer will also widen Berdan Place where the driveways are planned.
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: Case Comida Long Branch restaurant replaced by apartments, shops
