Prominent Point Pleasant Beach Corner to Receive Major Revitalization

The approved mixed-use building at 501 Arnold Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. (Supplied Photo)

A familiar and prominent street corner in Point Pleasant Beach will soon sport a new look, with a developer receiving approval from the borough’s planning board after presenting a proposal that maintains Arnold Avenue’s small business district while adding apartments above the stores or eateries.

The new, mixed-use building will replace the now-demolished Bank of America building that had been vacant for several years at the corner of Arnold Avenue and Route 35 North. The once-bustling bank building was a victim of the trend toward more online banking and fewer employees working in large offices. A previous proposal called for a 50 to 60-roon Wyndham hotel to be built on the site, which would have also included luxury apartments and a retail component, however that project was ultimately canceled and the property was placed back up for sale.

This week, the Point Pleasant Beach planning board approved the revised plan by PIA Investments that calls for a new building with five commercial units on Arnold Avenue, situated below 24 apartments on the second and third floors. The Bank of America building has already been razed.

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The corner of Arnold Avenue and Route 35 North in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. (Google Earth)

“It is consistent with the historic overlay zone, which we think is pretty significant,” said John Jackson, the attorney representing the project’s developer. “Whenever you have an application in the zone, you’re required to send it to the Historic Preservation Commission. This is consistent with what Point Pleasant Beach is doing to keep the charm of the downtown, keep it historic and compatible with everything else, but also move it forward.”

The principal of the development firm is a seasonal resident of Point Pleasant Beach, Jackson said. His architect, Gregory Cox, said the bank building had fallen into disrepair, and renovating it would not have complied with current regulations under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

“By the time we would save it, there would be nothing left,” he said, adding that the architecture of the new building better represents the vision of the borough’s Historic Preservation Commission versus a standard office structure.

“The second and third floors are identical,” he said, explaining that the building includes elevators and storage units for tenants. The five first-floor commercial spaces, he said, could be utilized as either retail stores or small eateries, and could conceivably be combined if a business sought a larger space. A restaurant use could be limited by available parking under the borough’s ordinance, however. The largest of the spaces could support a 70-seat restaurant with existing parking.

Professionals said they modeled the architecture and design of the new complex off historic photos of Arnold Avenue, including the original design of the bank building before it was modernized.

“Certainly, this is an extreme enhancement of curb appeal, from the landscaping in the front to the activation of having seating along the sidewalk, and its overall design which takes into account what it means to have a sense of place on that site,” said planner Justin Auciello, who represented the developer. “This is a site which is obviously a very active node on the edge of the downtown, highly walkable, right across from the train station with multi-modal access. From a planning standpoint, this type of development, not only in the way that it is designed, but the way it is intended to function in the public sphere, is certainly a model development.”

The project was unanimously approved by the board.