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FAIR HAVEN: CONSOLIDATION COMPLICATION?

fair haven 626 river road sunoco m&mThe former Sunoco station on River Road, as seen from Cedar Avenue this week. The site is being used to store materials for an unrelated New Jersey American Water project. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njAn ambitious plan to consolidate Fair Haven’s police station and borough hall into a new municipal complex appears to have run into a complication.

The former gas station the town has targeted for the proposed municipal complex has a new owner, who apparently wants to build two dozen townhomes on it.

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FAIR HAVEN: CONCEPT PLANS UNVEILED

fair haven, nj, borough hall conceptFair Haven’s new borough hall could look like this, its architect said. The view is from the firehouse on the opposite side of River Road(Rendering by Eli Goldstein. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03Fair Haven officials rolled out a set of concept drawings Thursday night for a pair of new borough buildings at the heart of an ambitious consolidation plan.

They also unveiled a timetable for the proposal, which calls for a domino chain of real estate acquisition, construction and the sale of property to help fund it all.

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FAIR HAVEN: PLAN ELICITS VARIED CONCERNS

Part of the plan calls for a new park-maintenance shed at Fair Haven Fields, just south of the Methodist church. (Image by Google. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njFair Haven residents peppered the borough council Tuesday night with questions about an ambitious plan to build a new town hall, consolidate operations and sell real estate.

The questions appeared to reflect a sense that residents were caught off guard by the scope of the project, which was first reported by redbankgreen Monday.

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FAIR HAVEN: NEW TOWN HALL PLANNED

646 RIVER ROAD FAIR HAVEN NJ SUNOCOFair Haven officials hope to acquire the former Sunoco station for redevelopment as part of long-range consolidation of municipal operations. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03A vacant gas station site in Fair Haven could become the home to a new borough hall and police station under a plan up for consideration Tuesday night.

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FAIR HAVEN: INVESTORS BANK PLAN STALLS

investors-bank-091316The Investors Bank proposed for River Road would be identical to this branch in Woodbridge, the developer said. (Photo by M&M Realty Partners. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03A proposed drive-thru bank on the site of a former filling station in Fair Haven ran out of gas Tuesday night.

The Investors Bank project encountered continuing objections to a traffic-flow plan that would put two driveways — for an entry and an exit — on River Road, which planning board members said raised child-safety concerns.

Also an issue: the brand-specific look of the one-story building, which called for a shallow glass atrium dome that one resident likened to a “blister.”

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FAIR HAVEN: BANK HEARING DELAYED AGAIN

fh bank plan 051016 1HOT-TOPIC_03For the second time since it began in May, a hearing on a proposed Investors Savings Bank branch on the former site of a Sunoco station on River Road in Fair Haven has been postponed at the applicant’s request. The matter, scheduled for Monday night, is now slated for July 28.

Meantime, the board is expected to continue its review of the town’s Master Plan, among other matters.

For redbankgreen’s prior coverage of the bank plan, click here.  (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

 

FAIR HAVEN: SKEPTICISM OVER BANK PLAN

fh bank plan 051016 1An architectural rendering of the bank, proposed for the former site of a Sunoco station.  (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

fh bank plan 051016 2Like a customer at a balky ATM, a regional bank will have to try again after Fair Haven’s planning board raised numerous objections to a proposed bank branch Tuesday night.

Though the matter didn’t go to a vote, all but one board member cited misgivings about Investors Savings Bank’s plan for a branch on the site of a former River Road filling station.

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FAIR HAVEN: BANK EYES SITE FOR DRIVE-THRU

fh sunoco 041816FH sunoco 1 122011After a four-year vacancy, the former site of a Sunoco station at River Road and Cedar Avenue in Fair Haven may be getting a new use: Investors Savings Bank hopes to build a branch with a drive-thru there. More →

‘ZERO LEAKS’ AS ICE DAMAGES FUEL STATION

Bahr's gas 020914 3Contractors remove damaged gasoline dispensers at Bahr’s Landing on Sunday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

No gasoline or diesel fuel leaked into the Shrewsbury River and surrounding waterways when “a real nasty sheet of ice” damaged a boat-fueling dock at Bahr’s Landing Marina in Highlands last month, a representative of the owner tells redbankgreen.

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FAIR HAVEN SUNOCO CLOSES

The River Road station will be boarded up until Sunoco can find another tenant, says the departing gasoline dealer. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

After 20 years, Rich Bercaw has pulled down the bay doors for the last time at his Sunoco gasoline and service station on River Road in Fair Haven.

Unable to keep up with steep rent and what he described as steadily dropping demand for both fuel and repairs, Bercaw pink-slipped five employees and shut off the lights last Thursday, he tells redbankgreen.

“Sunoco will come in and board it up until they find someone to rent it,” he said, as he loaded equipment into a pickup truck Tuesday. And with a deeply discounted first-year’s rent, “eventually, they’ll get someone,” he said.

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