Government

Hearing on Proposed 60 Unit Residential Complex in Brick Set for Late May, Opposition Mounts

by
Daniel Nee
May 16, 2025

A rendering of the entrance to a 60-unit multifamily complex proposed in Brick Township. (Credit: Planning Document)

The developer proposing a 60-unit residential complex on Drum Point Road in Brick Township – a project that is facing staunch opposition from residents of neighboring communities – will continue to pitch the development to the township’s zoning board later this month.

A hearing on the application of the nine-building development, proposed by members of the Ramani Group firm, was scheduled to continue July 30 after a vote was delayed earlier this month following hours of public questioning. But township officials this week said a special meeting has now been set aside for the sole purpose of continuing the hearing with public comments May 29, with the expectation that a vote may be taken by board members afterwards.

Residents, who were unanimously in opposition to the development at 100 Drum Point Road – a former medical office – utilized their right to cross examine witnesses called by the developer during the hearing process, which has been carried multiple times since it began last year. The residents’ concerns centered on the traffic that would generated by the development, which would include 48 townhomes and a 12-unit apartment building with one, two and three-bedroom units that would be designated as affordable housing.

The 5-acre property is owned by the estate of its longtime occupant, an eye doctor, however a development firm known as 100 Drum Point LLC is the contract purchaser of the parcel and is behind the development. That firm, according to state business records, is owned by Hiren Ramani, James D’Iorio, Vijyaben Ramani, and Daksha Ramani, all of Roselle Park, N.J. All are associated with Ramani Group, the developer of apartments and multifamily complexes across the state, accounting for more than 3,000 residential units spread throughout a $1 billion real estate portfolio.

The proposed site of a 60-unit multifamily complex proposed in Brick Township. (Credit: Planning Document)

A rendering of a 60-unit multifamily complex proposed in Brick Township. (Credit: Planning Document)

Ramani Group has proposed 156 parking spaces for the 60 units, which representatives have said exceeds the number of stalls required for a project of its size under the state’s Residential Site Improvement Standards, commonly known by its acronym RSIS. Residents, however, countered that the developer’s calculation of 2.4 vehicles for a three bedroom unit do not square with reality in 2025 – with many families with multiple children operating four or five cars. Traffic on Drum Point Road, in close proximity to three schools – Emma Havens Young, Drum Point and Osbornville – could pose a hazard in an area where there has previously been controversy over cars and school buses sharing space when transporting students.

Recently, a petition posted on Change.org has garnered just shy of 2,300 signatures in opposition to the proposal, raising concerns about traffic, density, as well as environmental concerns given the number of trees and natural buffers the project would claim.

“Those who live around the woods know it to be a unique oasis of wildlife with native Pine Barrens, all too rare in a town that has already lost much of its original forests and wetlands to development,” the petition states. “If this proposal gets approved, what is to stop future developments such as this coming to Brick and taking more of our natural woodlands.”

In order to gain approval, the board would need to grant the developer a use variance, meaning a supermajority of members would be required to vote in favor of the project. The project is proposed in the Village Zone, which does not normally permit multifamily housing developments.

The meeting will continue Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 7 p,m. in the Brick Township Municipal Building, 401 Chambers Bridge Road.