The Asbury Park City Council recently approved two tax breaks and two special assessments for a 2-acre development near Wesley Lake.
Officials approved two 30-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements and two 30-year special assessments at the council’s regular meeting on September 23. Council Member Angela Ahbez-Anderson was the only official to vote against the financial agreements. City residents did not submit comments about the legislation.
City council documents show the development will be handled by two separate developers: Atlanta, Georgia-based real estate firm Pulte Group and Asbury Park-based Starfield Companies.
Pulte Homes, the firm behind the Sunset Square townhouse development at 1401 Kingsley Street, is slated to build 59 condominiums and townhomes on the largest portion of the site, which spans roughly 1.5 acres.
The developer will build a five-story building on the northern end of the site along Asbury Avenue that includes 50 condominiums. Units will range in size from approximately 1,098 square feet to 1,624 square feet. A price disclosure in the ordinance packet states that unit costs will range from $754,990 for a one-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom unit to $1.1 million for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium.
The complex consists of 26 one-bedroom units, 24 two-bedroom units, and amenities across five stories.
The townhouse building, spanning four stories and featuring nine three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom units, will be located on the southwestern side of the project site. Units will include exterior balconies, two-car garages, and private driveways. They will be priced at approximately $1.4 million.
The tax incentive application, dated July 13, states that the project will create 40 part-time and full-time temporary jobs and 10 permanent jobs within a year after construction is completed. The application also states that the estimated cost per unit will range from $230,076 for a condominium to $401,363 for a townhouse.
The ordinance states that the site currently generates $125,264.61 in taxes per year and that the city’s net revenue, due to the annual service charge from the PILOT, will be $328,686.00. However, the city did not make the full financial agreement available online.
The PILOT application also states that construction is estimated to start in April 2028 and wrap up by April 2030.
The second phase of the project, led by Starfield, secured a 30-year PILOT and special assessment for the residential portion. Documents shared by City Council show the project will include a three-story building with 5,000 square feet of commercial space, 8 condominiums, and a single-story parking structure with 126 parking stalls.
The project will include two three-bedroom, three-bath duplexes with approximately 2,563 square feet of interior space, four three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom units, and two four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom residences. Prices will range from approximately $1.7 million to $3.5 million.
The site currently generates $62,632.30 in annual taxes, and the annual service charge will generate approximately $123,168.00 in net revenue for the city. However, the ordinance packet did not disclose the full terms of the financial agreement.
The ordinance packet made public also omitted the full terms of the two special assessments granted by the city.
Starfield’s parent company, New York-based Star Holdings, has an interest in, or has had an interest in, six other urban renewal firms that have secured financial agreements and special assessments from the city, according to the PILOT application.
The firm stated that the project will create 50 direct temporary construction jobs and 20 permanent jobs after construction is completed. However, the PILOT application does not include an exact timeline of when the project will commence construction.
It states that “for Phase II construction, the Entity must apply for building permits within 60 days of the date on which [the portion of the project led by Pulte Group] of the Project receives its last Certificate of Occupancy. The Entity anticipates commencing construction no later than 180 days after receiving its building permits and completing construction within 24 months thereafter.”
Jersey Digs reported in July that the Asbury Park Planning Board approved a final site plan for both phases of the project in June. The approval came four years after the applicant, APW Redeveloper LLC and Asbury Partners LLC, first presented a proposal for the site.
Daniel Sciannameo, a board member, had to recuse himself from the public hearing on the application because of comments he made as a private citizen during a March city council meeting about Asbury Partners and Madison Marquette failing to restore several historic buildings along the city’s boardwalk. Asbury Park Mayor John Moor also recused himself from the final vote on the application.
Despite the tenuous nature of the proposed redevelopment, investors continue to take interest in the area around Wesley Lake. Jersey Digs reported in September that the city’s planning board approved a final site plan for the redevelopment of the Tandem Cycle building at 216 Cookman Avenue — directly across the street from 320 Asbury Avenue. That proposal calls for a four-story, Mediterranean Revival-style residential complex with 27 residences and amenities atop a parking podium with up to 42 parking stalls.
