See possible plans for Holmdel's former Vonage office building
HOLMDEL - The former Vonage headquarters at 23 Main St. could become a 453-unit long-term care facility, according to a presentation obtained by the Asbury Park Press.
The office building was sold by Veris Residential on Oct. 13 to 23 Main Street Propco LLC, an affiliate of Community Healthcare Associates, a Bloomfield developer, according to Monmouth County property records. The plans for the proposed long-term care facility were developed by CHA Partners, a developer that has built apartments buildings and medical facilities in New Jersey, New York and the Bahamas.
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According to the plan submitted, 272 units would be for independent living, 48 units would be “cottages,” 44 units would be for memory care or skilled care and 89 units are proposed for assisted living. The plans were emailed to the Holmdel town administrators in March and obtained through an open records request.
The proposed plans have not been approved by the township.
Township attorney Michael Collins said during the township committee’s Nov. 21 meeting, “I can say confidently that there have been no offers or guarantees of any particular outcome that supported any individual completing a private purchase.”
At that same meeting, the township committee voted to conduct a redevelopment study of the site.
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Collins said the study would follow a similar redevelopment process as the Crawford Hill property, where the Holmdel Horn Antenna resides.
The main difference is that the redevelopment study for the Crawford Hill property proposed condemning the property for the purpose of eminent domain. The Vonage redevelopment plan would not condemn the property or invoke eminent domain.
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The redevelopment study would be heard by the planning board and later approved by the township committee. A redevelopment plan for the specific property would be drawn up.
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At issue is the property’s current zone. The former Vonage office building was zoned for OL 2 or Office Laboratory, which does not allow for residential properties.
Holmdel resident Jay Yannello questioned “why would someone buy land like that unless they were fairly convinced that we would approve such a high-density plan like they’ve submitted.”
Collins said similar to the Crawford Hill property, much of the negotiations for Vonage will take place in executive session.
The original plans for Crawford Hill proposed building 80 townhouses on the property. After months of negotiation, the township purchased part Crawford Hill for $5.5 million, with the developer donating $750,000 back to the township for park improvements. The former Nokia building at Crawford Hill will be redeveloped with a potential mix of retail and office spaces.
Collins said, the township committee is “committed to providing as much transparency as possible when it is able to do so.”
Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Plan pitches sweeping changes to Holmdel's Vonage building
