CityWorks in the Press
West Lake plan evokes hope, horror
Published in the Asbury Park Press 08/25/05
BY MICHELLE SAHN
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU
Gail Oliver and Lester Goldberg came to watch Neptune officials and architects unveil their plans to redevelop West Lake Avenue, but one walked away with hope and the other left stunned.
Oliver, the president of the nonprofit Midtown Urban Renaissance Corp., is hoping her neighborhood will once again become a vibrant community where parades draw crowds and shoppers stroll down the street.
But as Goldberg and his wife, Lynn, who own a janitorial equipment and supply company, watched the presentation, they learned of plans to tear down the building they purchased in January 2004 and spent about $200,000 to renovate, he said.
Under the $100 million proposal, West Lake Avenue, from Route 35 to the Asbury Park boundary would be redeveloped. The plan would bring jobs to the area, home ownership to the neighborhood and tax revenue to the town, Mayor Thomas J. Catley said.
The project is one of three proposed redevelopment zones within the midtown section of Neptune, and one of four within the town.
Modern buildings would be built on both sides of the street, with 131,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floors and 311 residential units on the second and third floors, said Anton Nelessen of A. Nelessen Associates Inc.
About 60 percent to 70 percent of those residential units would be affordable to those who live in the neighborhood, with studios costing around $150,000, one-bedrooms for $180,000 and two-bedrooms for $200,000. The other units would be priced at market rates, said Nelessen, the architect and land planner who designed the conceptual plans.
The proposal calls for a circular park at one end of the street, and an existing day care center that could be moved closer to that park. A family clinic could also be built in the neighborhood.
The plans also call for more than 83,000 square feet of "green roofs," where trees could be planted on rooftops, to help prolong the lives of those roofs, and reduce air-conditioning costs by 40 to 60 percent, said Nelessen.
West Lake Avenue was once the place where everyone came to shop.
But on July 4, 1970, a riot in Asbury Park spilled into the midtown area of Neptune, said Oliver. Businesses were burned. The National Guard was called in.
Several years ago, residents formed the renaissance corporation, which hopes to partner with the Trenton-based redeveloper, CityWorks, on the project, said Oliver, who said she would like to see more restaurants in the plan, as well as a cultural facility.
"I was anxiously waiting to see the unveiling," she said. "Conceptually, I think it will work with further input from business owners and residents."
Goldberg and his wife have operated Scrubber Doctor in Neptune for about nine years, and in January 2004, they purchased a building on Route 35. Through the township, they received grants and low-interest loans to fix it up, but now they fear they will be forced out of business, they said.
"I just can't believe they're going to go ahead and tear down a building that the township has funded through this whole process," Lester Goldberg said. "We were told when we bought it, that if we redid it, it would be a blessing and the best thing that ever happened, and then they're telling us to get lawyers."
The proposal was met with mixed reaction in the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.
Michael Prior, 38, who lives a few blocks away, on Division Street, said the neighborhood is one with some good people and some bad people.
"But nobody around here is rich and nobody around here can afford a condominium," he said. "Most people around here are struggling. . . . How many people around here that you know have $150,000? Affordable? Affordable to who? Not affordable to us."
But Bucky Stevens, 63, said he remembers the days when the area was a "really happening spot."
"Since the riots the place went down," he said. "It would be a great improvement."
Deidra Harvin, 37, who grew up nearby, said as long as the redevelopment plan does not affect her parent's home just off of West Lake Avenue, she has no problem with it.
Published in the Asbury Park Press 08/25/05
BY MICHELLE SAHN
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU
Gail Oliver and Lester Goldberg came to watch Neptune officials and architects unveil their plans to redevelop West Lake Avenue, but one walked away with hope and the other left stunned.
Oliver, the president of the nonprofit Midtown Urban Renaissance Corp., is hoping her neighborhood will once again become a vibrant community where parades draw crowds and shoppers stroll down the street.
But as Goldberg and his wife, Lynn, who own a janitorial equipment and supply company, watched the presentation, they learned of plans to tear down the building they purchased in January 2004 and spent about $200,000 to renovate, he said.
Under the $100 million proposal, West Lake Avenue, from Route 35 to the Asbury Park boundary would be redeveloped. The plan would bring jobs to the area, home ownership to the neighborhood and tax revenue to the town, Mayor Thomas J. Catley said.
The project is one of three proposed redevelopment zones within the midtown section of Neptune, and one of four within the town.
Modern buildings would be built on both sides of the street, with 131,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floors and 311 residential units on the second and third floors, said Anton Nelessen of A. Nelessen Associates Inc.
About 60 percent to 70 percent of those residential units would be affordable to those who live in the neighborhood, with studios costing around $150,000, one-bedrooms for $180,000 and two-bedrooms for $200,000. The other units would be priced at market rates, said Nelessen, the architect and land planner who designed the conceptual plans.
The proposal calls for a circular park at one end of the street, and an existing day care center that could be moved closer to that park. A family clinic could also be built in the neighborhood.
The plans also call for more than 83,000 square feet of "green roofs," where trees could be planted on rooftops, to help prolong the lives of those roofs, and reduce air-conditioning costs by 40 to 60 percent, said Nelessen.
West Lake Avenue was once the place where everyone came to shop.
But on July 4, 1970, a riot in Asbury Park spilled into the midtown area of Neptune, said Oliver. Businesses were burned. The National Guard was called in.
Several years ago, residents formed the renaissance corporation, which hopes to partner with the Trenton-based redeveloper, CityWorks, on the project, said Oliver, who said she would like to see more restaurants in the plan, as well as a cultural facility.
"I was anxiously waiting to see the unveiling," she said. "Conceptually, I think it will work with further input from business owners and residents."
Goldberg and his wife have operated Scrubber Doctor in Neptune for about nine years, and in January 2004, they purchased a building on Route 35. Through the township, they received grants and low-interest loans to fix it up, but now they fear they will be forced out of business, they said.
"I just can't believe they're going to go ahead and tear down a building that the township has funded through this whole process," Lester Goldberg said. "We were told when we bought it, that if we redid it, it would be a blessing and the best thing that ever happened, and then they're telling us to get lawyers."
The proposal was met with mixed reaction in the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.
Michael Prior, 38, who lives a few blocks away, on Division Street, said the neighborhood is one with some good people and some bad people.
"But nobody around here is rich and nobody around here can afford a condominium," he said. "Most people around here are struggling. . . . How many people around here that you know have $150,000? Affordable? Affordable to who? Not affordable to us."
But Bucky Stevens, 63, said he remembers the days when the area was a "really happening spot."
"Since the riots the place went down," he said. "It would be a great improvement."
Deidra Harvin, 37, who grew up nearby, said as long as the redevelopment plan does not affect her parent's home just off of West Lake Avenue, she has no problem with it.
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