The Planning Board endorsed declaring six lots on Pierce and Fulton Streets and East Milton Avenue in need of redevelopment.

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There were no comments from the public and the Planning Board unanimously (7-0) approved a resolution to recommend to the City Council that it be declared an area in need of condemnation redevelopment. City Council endorsed the properties a condemnation redevelopment area via resolution (AR-220-23) at its Oct. 10 regular meeting. The governing body also approved a $40,000 contract (AR-222-23) with Red Bank-based Heyer Gruel Associates, which completed the Aug. 31 redevelopment study, to accept a Sept. 28 proposal prepare a redevelopment plan for the designated area.

At the same meeting, the Planning Board approved a similar resolution after a presentation on the redevelopment study of 329 New Brunswick Ave. (Block 276, Lot 10). That will be the subject of a separate, future blog post.

Planner Leigh Fleming presented the Planning Board with the redevelopment study during its Sept. 26 regular meeting. The 122-page report, which can be found in its entirety here, includes details about each property, including descriptions, property ownership, tax assessments, complaints and violations.

The Study Area includes several properties which are clear-cut examples of buildings that are “substandard, unsafe, and dilapidated… as to be conducive to unwholesome living or working
conditions.” In all, it’s about 1.2 acres, roughly 53,000 square feet, in the city’s CBD-RA Central Business District Redevelopment Area Subdistrict.

Four of the six parcels meet Criterion A: “The generality of buildings are substandard, unsafe, unsanitary, dilapidated, or obsolescent, or possess any of such characteristics, or are so lacking in light, air, or space, as to be conductive to unwholesome living or working conditions:”

• Lot 3 (97 E. Milton Ave.)
• 4.01 (1348 Pierce St.)
• 4.02 (1340 Pierce St.)
• 4.03 (1334 Pierce St.)

“Looking at the photos, you can tell they’re uninhabited,” Fleming said, adding that X’s on the property mean that the building has been deemed unsafe for emergency personnel to enter. A permit for the demolition of the properties was issued on March 1 and it appears that some preliminary demolition work may have occurred, according to the study. Check out my Patreon page for a gallery of photos of the Pierce Street properties.

Lot 1.01 (65-73 E. Milton Ave.) is a two-story mixed use building with four retail tenants and eight apartments on the second floor and about 18 parking spaces around the building.

This property could be deemed in need of redevelopment under Section 3 of the redevelopment law. While it doesn’t meet any of the substandard criteria it could be included because it’s necessary for effective redevelopment of the area.

“When considered alone, there is not substantial evidence that [it] meets any of the statutory criteria,” according to the study. “As a result, the omission of the lot would create an awkward gap that would inhibit the comprehensive redevelopment of the Study Area.”

The lot is surrounded by the other parcels, fronts an area across from the train station and “really rounds out that area,” Fleming said. “You can’t look at it piecemeal but in the comprehensive nature of the area. As a result, this is really an important piece of the puzzle, and for effective redevelopment of the area,” she said.

Lot 4.04 (1349-53 Fulton St.), formerly Mangos Grill, has been vacant for almost five years since the Parking Authority acquired it, which would meet Criteria B: “A building formerly used for retail or commercial purposes qualifies as in need of redevelopment if it has remained vacant for at least two consecutive years.” The property includes 32 parking spaces for permit parking.

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