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Olivia LiuAsbury Park Press
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- Holmdel reached an agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center to provide 106 affordable housing units over the next decade.
- Forty-eight of the affordable units will be included in a senior housing development planned for the former Vonage building.
- The senior housing project will include for-sale units, cottage units, assisted living facilities and rental units.
HOLMDEL -- The township is expected to provide 106 affordable housing units in the next 10 years after reaching an agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center, and of those 106 units, 48 are expected to come from newly approved plans for senior housing at the former Vonage building.
Mayor Brian Foster called the agreement a “huge win for the town.”
The state Department of Community Affairs had previously calculated that Holmdel owed 133 affordable units, as determined by determined by population growth, demographics, income, the value of nonresidential properties and available land.
In January, the township argued in court that 133 affordable units would be too high. Its own planner looked through data provided by the Department of Community Affairs and stated that the number of prospective affordable units should be 98.
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In a mediation agreement dated March 31, the township and the Fair Share Housing Center, a nonprofit advocating for low- and moderate-income housing, agreed that the township would be obliged to provide 106 prospective affordable units.
Both the Department of Community Affairs and Holmdel agreed to provide the original number of 129 rehabilitation units. Those units are not for new construction, but are for exiting residential units that are expected to be brought up to code.
“Our number 106 is a lot closer to 98 than it is 133, so I would claim a victory on that,” resident Pat Trischitta said during the township committee’s Tuesday meeting.
In addition to the mediation agreement, the township committee voted unanimously to approve plans to redevelop the former Vonage building.
The redeveloper 23 Main Street Urban Renewal LLC is associated with CHA Partners, which specializes in senior housing and medical facilities.
The proposed redevelopment is divided into four phases:
- The first phase includes 104 for-sale units.
- The second phase includes 65 for-sale cottage units.
- The third phase includes 90 beds in a three-story assisted living/memory care/skilled nursing facility.
- The fourth phase includes 40 rental units in a senior living apartment building.
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According to attorney Michael Collins, of the 104 units in the first phase, 21 would be set aside as affordable units; of the 65 units for phase two, 13 units would be set aside as affordable units; of the 90 beds available in phase three, six units would be set aside as affordable units; and of the 40 rental units, eight units would be set aside as affordable units.
The project would also include a club house. Amenities could include an outdoor pool, a hot tub, a pool house bar, an outdoor patio and grill areas, a restaurant and bar with outdoor seating, a golf simulator, an exercise room with lockers and shower, a yoga and pilates studio and a golf area. The clubhouse would be open to residents and — for a fee — members of the public.
Other proposed amenities include a hair and nail salon, a sauna, a game room, a tenant storage area, a bicycle storage area, electric cart storage and charging area, library/office suites, an activity room and a mail/package room. These proposed amenities would only be reserved for for residents.
In addition, the project would also include a 7,000-square-foot multipurpose facility that would be leased to the township permanently and public biking and walking trails.
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Committeeman Rocco Impreveduto said there were “no material changes” from plans presented to the planning board.
Resident Karen Strickland expressed concerns that building dense housing in that area would encourage more dense housing.
Collins said the redevelopment of the former Vonage building would not affect the zoning of neighboring parcels.
“This is a one-off,” he said.
Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.
