RED BANK: BOARD SUED OVER TWO DECISIONS

Feb 12, 2020

The owners of the Colony House apartments, at right, claim the plan for the VNA site, at left, violates their property rights. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Two months after approving one of the largest development projects in Red Bank history, the borough planning board has been sued over the decision, redbankgreen has learned.

The suit arrives as the board is defending itself in a lawsuit concerning a proposed Hampton Inn just across the street.

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February 12, 2020 - 7:00 am |

RED BANK: HOTEL DELAY REQUEST REJECTED

Apr 16, 2019

A rendering of the proposed Hampton Inn, with the former VNA building at right. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

In a move that could torpedo a hotly debated hotel at the northern entry to Red Bank, the planning board Monday night shot down a request by the would-be developer for more time to get the project in the ground.
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April 16, 2019 - 7:20 am |

RED BANK: LIGHT ‘NOT FEASIBLE’ SAYS DOT

Nov 15, 2017

A car, at right, waits for a break in the traffic to turn onto Riverside Avenue from Bodman Place. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Creating a new signal-controlled intersection on a busy stretch of Red Bank highway near the Molly Pitcher Inn is “not feasible,” according to the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Still, Mayor Pasquale Menna is hoping the DOT will reconsider its oft-stated position if and when there’s a new owner of the former VNA Health Group headquarters building, located on a problematic corner, he told redbankgreen Monday.

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November 15, 2017 - 7:00 am |

RED BANK: HAMPTON INN WINS APPROVAL

Feb 7, 2017

Peter Steck, a planner hired by an opponent of the proposed hotel, testified that the developer was “stuffing” the one-acre site. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

After nearly seven years of battles, a proposed hotel at the northernmost entrance to Red Bank won approval Monday night.

The planning board’s OK of a six-story, 76-room Hampton Inn at the foot of the Route 35 Cooper’s Bridge came after a last-minute concession by the developer.

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February 7, 2017 - 12:16 am |

RED BANK: HOTEL ANTAGONIST RETURNS

Dec 20, 2016

Rbank Capital managing partner and would-be Hampton Inn developer Larry Cohen at Monday night’s planning board hearing with an architect’s rendering of the hotel. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A hotel developer’s long and contentious battle to build a 76-room Hampton Inn at Red Bank’s northern gateway grew longer more contentious Monday night.

It also got a bit deja vu-y when, for the second time in the plan’s six-year history, its chief antagonist, lawyer Ron Gasiorowski, returned, claiming once again to represent a client with legal standing to challenge the plan.

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December 20, 2016 - 1:24 am |

RED BANK: WILL HAMPTON INN GET THE KEYS?

Dec 19, 2016

Will a new hotel finally get the keys to Red Bank? After almost six years in litigation and other delays, a six-story, 76-room Hampton Inn proposed on the former site of a Exxon station at the foot of the Route 35 Cooper’s Bridge could go to a vote Monday night.

But first, the plan must overcome the objections of at least one planning board member, who has warned that the hotel’s traffic plan is dangerously flawed to the point that “someone is going to die” if it’s allowed.

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December 19, 2016 - 5:59 am |

RED BANK: HOTEL ACCESS PLAN CRITICIZED

Nov 22, 2016

An architect’s rendering of the proposed Hampton Inn, as seen from Riverside Avenue, with the existing VNA building at right. (Rendering by Louis Silverstein. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

After years of litigation and other delays, a proposed Hampton Inn at Red Bank’s northern gateway returned to the borough planning board Monday night — and quickly ran into opposition.

Board member Guy Maratta sharply criticized a plan to allow vehicles to turn left into the Route 35 site across two lanes of southbound traffic that he said averages 60 miles per hour.

“Somebody is going to die, mark my words,” Maratta told the traffic engineer for the applicant, Rbank Capital.

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November 22, 2016 - 12:04 am |

RED BANK: HAMPTON INN RETURNS

Nov 18, 2016

Architect Lou Silverstein with a rendering of the proposed hotel, at center above, as seen from the Middletown side of Cooper’s Bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Almost six years after it was first proposed, a Hampton Inn at Red Bank’s northern gateway remains nothing more than an abstraction, existing solely as mountain of engineer and litigation documents.

The developer hopes to finally turn it into a seven-story reality.

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November 18, 2016 - 3:29 pm |

RED BANK: HOTEL PLAN RETURNS, SORT OF

Jun 21, 2016

Architect Lou Silverstein with a rendering of the proposed hotel, at center above, as seen from the Middletown side of Cooper’s Bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The developer of a proposed Hampton Inn hotel that’s been mired in zoning reviews and lawsuits for five years returned to Red Bank’s planning board after an extended absence Monday night.

The purpose? An informal presentation. A “coming attractions” preview of amended plans, in the words of the board’s attorney. More →

June 21, 2016 - 6:18 am |

RED BANK: COURT BACKS HEIGHT CHANGE

Jan 14, 2016

The seven-story, 76-room hotel would be built on a one-acre riverfront property adjacent to Cooper’s Bridge, seen here from the Middletown side of the Navesink. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A 2013 change to the building height limits in Red Bank’s waterfront development zone did not constitute “spot zoning,” even though it benefitted a planned Hampton Inn a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Instead, the appeals court upheld a Superior Court decision that found the changes “were enacted as part of a comprehensive plan to advance the general welfare of the community.”

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January 14, 2016 - 10:25 am |

RED BANK: HAMPTON HOTEL PLAN REVIVED

Jan 7, 2016

Lawyer Ron Gasiorowski, who has sued to block to the hotel, examines a rendering at a 2012 hearing. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Five years after it was proposed and nearly two years after it was derailed by litigation, a planned Hampton Inn at Red Bank’s northern gateway is back.

But the controversial plan is still in court.

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January 7, 2016 - 8:00 am |

RED BANK: FAMILIAR FACES AT HAMPTON II

Jul 16, 2013

Engineer Rich Kenderian testifies for the hotel developer, above. Below, objector Stephen Mitchell reviewing plans. (Photo by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)

By SARAH KLEPNER

Parking and stormwater emerged as early issues when the second round of hearings for a proposed six-storyRed Bank hotel got underway Monday night.

The 76-room Hampton Inn would be built at the foot of the Route 35 Cooper Bridge, at the northern gateway to town, on the former site of an Exxon gas station. A series of combative hearings on the plan that began in August, 2011 ended nearly a year later with a ruling the structure was too tall.

With zoning rules since amended by the borough council to accommodate the building’s height, the start of round two brought out familiar adversaries and one new one who, if she was present, did not announce herself or her interest.

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July 16, 2013 - 10:07 am |

RED BANK: CONTROVERSIAL HOTEL RETURNS

Jul 15, 2013

A Hampton Inn hotel is proposed for the long-vacant Exxon station site at the foot of the Cooper Bridge. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

It’s back.

After a year of dormancy, a controversial proposal for a six-story, 76-room Hampton Inn hotel at the northern gateway to Red Bank returns to the spotlight Monday night, when the borough planning board begins anew with what’s expected to be another series of hearings.

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July 15, 2013 - 1:25 pm |

LAWSUIT DELAYS HAMPTON INN DECISION

Sep 7, 2011

A possible vote on whether to allow the construction of a six-story hotel on the Red Bank anchorage of the Cooper Bridge was postponed Wednesday night after a borough resident filed a lawsuit challenging the plan.

After 40 minutes behind closed doors, the town’s planning board voted to postpone a scheduled hearing on the proposal for a 72-room Hampton Inn until September 19 so that its members could “digest” the lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in Freehold Tuesday.

Meantime, Ron Gasiorowski, a lawyer representing Prospect Avenue resident Stephen Mitchell, hopes to persuade the court that the matter belongs before the zoning board, not the planning board.

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September 7, 2011 - 8:51 pm |

Red Bank Green

Serving Red Bank and Greater Red Bank, NJ

RED BANK: HOTEL DELAY REQUEST REJECTED

RED BANK: LIGHT ‘NOT FEASIBLE’ SAYS DOT

RED BANK: HAMPTON INN WINS APPROVAL

RED BANK: HOTEL ANTAGONIST RETURNS

RED BANK: WILL HAMPTON INN GET THE KEYS?

RED BANK: HOTEL ACCESS PLAN CRITICIZED

RED BANK: HAMPTON INN RETURNS

RED BANK: HOTEL PLAN RETURNS, SORT OF

RED BANK: COURT BACKS HEIGHT CHANGE

RED BANK: HAMPTON HOTEL PLAN REVIVED

RED BANK: FAMILIAR FACES AT HAMPTON II

RED BANK: CONTROVERSIAL HOTEL RETURNS

LAWSUIT DELAYS HAMPTON INN DECISION