Redevelopment of Former ‘House-Motel’ Ready to Move Ahead in Seaside Heights

The property at 229 Franklin Avenue, Seaside Heights, N.J., Aug. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

A property on the west side of Seaside Heights that was long known for its oddly-developed combination of a house and motel/apartment building on the same lot is ready for redevelopment a year after it was sold following its acquisition by the borough.

Located at 229 Franklin Avenue, the property was once home to two separate buildings: a residential home close to the street and  a three-story building resembling a motel that was used in its final days as a long-term rental apartment complex. The property consistently generated complaints from neighbors as to its condition, as well as calls to police due to nefarious activity that often occurred there. The borough purchased the buildings for $1.1 million using state grant funding aimed at acquiring and redeveloping blighted properties. It was then demolished.

Last spring, after a round of public auctions that initially did not produce any bids, the parcel was sold for $415,000 to a developer, who appeared at a work session of the borough planning board meeting last week to go over final considerations in anticipation of a formal hearing in the coming weeks.

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The proposed property at 229 Franklin Avenue, Seaside Heights, N.J. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Demolition of the property at 229 Franklin Avenue, Seaside Heights, Dec. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The property at 229 Franklin Avenue, Seaside Heights, N.J., Aug. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

229 Franklin Avenue, Seaside Heights, N.J., March 2023 (Photo: Daniel Nee)

229 Franklin Avenue, Seaside Heights, N.J., March 2023 (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The developer, Damian Jordan, of Long Branch, is proposing a three-story, multi-family townhouse building in keeping with the redevelopment plan that was adopted by the borough council. The redevelopment plan supersedes traditional zoning requirements, and redevelopers are required under state land use law to conform to the plan.

“We are currently in the process of finalizing the redevelopment appointment with my client as the redeveloper for the site,” said attorney Dante Alfieri, representing the owner. “We’re looking to have it signed this week or next week.”

Alfieri told board members the only deviation being proposed from the redevelopment plan adopted by council is to build with a 9-foot setback in the rear yard versus 15-feet as required.

“We have off-street parking we have to provide, and given the way the site is designed, it would make more sense to seek the deviation in the rear rather than moving the property closer to the street and therefore losing a space,” said Alfieri.

Additionally, the underlying zone allows for a single 16-foot curb cut, but since three townhomes are being proposed, each unit must have its own driveway. The three driveways would total 42-feet, or 14-feet each. The board’s engineer suggested vegetation be planted in between each driveway, with Jordan adding during brief testimony that he already plans on adding plantings in those spaces.

The project will be formally proposed at a future regular board meeting.