West End residents oppose hi-rise project

BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

Residents are expected to crowd a special Zoning Board meeting at city hall Monday night to oppose an application for a luxury condominium complex in the West End section of the Long Branch.

The applicant, Wharton Acquisition LLC, Eatontown, is seeking approval from the board to construct an eight-story, mixed-use complex at 590 Ocean Blvd. in the C-4 zone where only five stories are permitted.

The special zoning meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on June 5, and the Wharton Acquisition project is the only item listed on the agenda.

Plans for the site include razing the existing 40-unit Beachside Manor apartment complex and replacing it with 58 residential units, as well as a day spa, retail space and parking, according to the application.

"I am opposed to this kind of a development in that area," said John Guzman, a resident of Harbor Manor, which is located just south of the proposed project.

"This will just add to the considerable congestion in the area and the traffic already in the area," Guzman said. "It is going to add to the urbanization of the West End of Long Branch. The last thing this community needs are giant buildings. [The city] will start to look like Miami."

According to Guzman, approximately 50 residents of the neighborhood surrounding the site of the proposed project plan to attend the meeting to oppose the board granting approval of the application.

The application was originally scheduled to be heard at the board's May 8 meeting, which Guzman said was attended by a group of more than 40 residents opposed to the project.

The Zoning Board secretary said the application was moved because time ran out.

"There is nothing wrong with what is there now, but if it is going to be [redeveloped], something like townhouses fit much more reasonably, which is where we all feel West End and all of Long Branch should be going," Guzman said.

"Townhouses would just fit better, rather than squeezing out every last profit dollar of space," Guzman added.

The applicant is not seeking site plan approval at this time, but may seek additional variances, waivers and exceptions at the time it pursues site plan approval, according to the application on file with the Zoning Board.

The applicant is seeking a variance to exceed the five-story permitted use by three stories, and is also seeking a variance for minimum side-yard setback, proposing 33.4 feet where 41.5 feet is required, according to the application.

The property is owned by Brott Realty LLC, whose members include John Brockriede, according to the application.

Principals in Wharton Acquisition are brothers, Mark and Isaac Massry and the development plans for the project were prepared by Monteforte Architectural Studio, based in Long Branch.

The applicant is being represented by John Marmora of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham, based in Newark.

According to the tax assessor's clerk, Beachside Manor is currently assessed at $2.9 million.