The redevelopment of the Braverman Building on Memorial Drive in Asbury Park’s commercial district reached a significant milestone last week, when members of the city’s planning board voted to approve a site plan for apartments and retail space. The approval clears the way for Jemal’s Braverman Building LLC, the project applicant, to move forward with a mixed-use building featuring 126 apartments, 2,000 square feet of retail, and covered parking for 131 vehicles.
The five-story project includes 26 affordable housing units. For the market-rate apartments, 67 will be studios, 26 will be one-bedroom, and 7 will be two-bedroom. The affordable unit breakdown is 5 one-bedroom, 15 two-bedroom, and 6 three-bedroom residences, according to the meeting materials from the city planning board.
Washington D.C.-based developer Douglas Jemal, the founder and president of real estate firm Douglas Development, is leading the redevelopment project, which will be the firm’s first in Asbury Park. Jemal purchased the property at 1201 Memorial Drive for $1.1 million in August 2017 from the state’s department of education, according to reports in The Coaster and the Monmouth County Clerk.
Jemal first intended to tear down the existing building and reposition the site for retail use. However, failed negotiations to obtain a construction permit and the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment initially denying an application for a zoning variance for retail use led the developer to modify his plans. A June 2020 report in The Coaster said that Jemal then planned to develop 108 residential units and sought two variances for height and density.
However, documents made public by the planning board show that the City Council approved a redevelopment plan for the site in July 2024. That plan was amended in February 2025, just two months before the developer submitted a site plan application to the planning board. The planning board carried that application from its April meeting and finally granted site plan approval on July 21st.
The Braverman Building was first used by the Fischer Baking Company and later became a methadone clinic for the Monmouth County Health Department during the 1980s and 1990s, according to a report in TAPinto Asbury Park.
Although the Braverman Building redevelopment is Douglas Development’s first project in Asbury Park, the developer has already made its mark in Monmouth County, particularly in Long Branch.
A report from 2012 in Patch.com said Jemal relocated two historic buildings—the Captain’s House and the 1903 Port Huron House—to his personal residence at 900 Ocean Avenue. This occurred just months before Superstorm Sandy destroyed the Takanassee Beach Club, where both historic buildings were previously located.
Last year, a report in the Asbury Park Press detailed Jemal’s contentious relationship with the Long Branch Planning Board over the restoration of the Star of the Sea School at 179 Chelsea Avenue. According to the report, Jemal had commenced unapproved work, including the installation of rooftop amenities and the construction of an unapproved leasing office. This led the board to issue a stop-work order in July of that year, before Jemal went before them to amend plans to include a lounge, a small gym, bathrooms, and storage space.
Douglas Development did not return a request for comment by Jersey Digs.
