By JF Grodeska
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – The building at the corner of Center Avenue and First Avenue has a long history: 65 First Ave. has been home to a real estate company and an insurance company. It once housed Mrs. Gerber’s Used Book Store, Al’s Produce, Fowler’s Novelty Store, Webb’s Shoemakers and Fish & Chips, a seafood restaurant that held its grand opening on Good Friday 1969.
Now all that history is being replaced.
Several weeks ago, residents traveling east on First Avenue were surprised to find the old building being torn down. An Atlantic Highlands Facebook group erupted with questions, asking what would possibly replace it.
The comments ranged from thoughts that progress is good for towns to resignation to outrage, condemnation and insinuations of impropriety.
The building at 65 First Ave. was not iconic. It had its flaws. It was not particularly pretty. Once, it had two additional stores running the length of the property to the existing driveway along Center Avenue. They were torn down years ago.
However, the building had a long history and held many stories in collective memories.
At Fowler’s Novelty Store you could buy penny candies, those cool metal cap bombs that made a loud pop when they hit the street, and black disks that, when ignited, would morph into long, undulating “snakes” made of black ash.
At Webb’s Shoemaker Shop, Webb, who had retired from the U.S. Postal Service in Atlantic Highlands, turned his favorite hobby into a business, along with his young son Reggie.
Fish & Chips, the seafood restaurant in the corner of the building that straddled First and Center avenues, was owned by Jack and Ellen Grodeska. (See note)
According to records, the property, which sold Aug. 28, 2019, for $775,000, is owned by T-THREE, LLC c/o Kalian Mgmt., LLC.
On Aug. 3, 2023, the planning board approved variances to permit the construction of a four-story mixed-use building with 1,420 square feet of retail space on the first floor and a total of 15 two-bedroom residential units on the second, third and fourth floors. The building will have 30 on-site parking spaces; the additional eight required parking spaces for retail will be fulfilled at the municipal parking lot across the street from the site.
There is a perception that the Atlantic Highlands Planning Board, or the council, has the authority to stop a project if the community is resistant to that project for aesthetic reasons. In truth, the planning board only has the power to approve variances and projects within the scope of existing borough ordinances. Beyond this, the planning board has no special discretionary powers.
“I think there’s some general confusion in our community about how new development is considered,” said Brian Dougherty, Atlantic Highlands Borough Council president and the council liaison to the planning board. “The planning board, as an entity, does not decide or choose what is proposed on a particular parcel. The board evaluates applications based on their compliance with the zoning ordinances passed by the governing body.”
And those ordinances can be decades old.
“Many of the ordinances regulating development specifically in the Central and Historic Business Districts (First Avenue) haven’t been changed in a generation and significantly predate the 2019 Master Plan,” he explained.
The mayor and council have introduced ordinances to create density designations, frontage regulations and retail space in new developments. The planning board will create a subcommittee to review Atlantic Highland’s building codes to bring them in line with the current needs of the community.
Editor’s Note: Jack and Ellen Grodeska were the reporter’s parents. Here are his recollections:
“In 1969, Atlantic Utilities, where my 35-year-old father worked as a welder since high school, was closing and he needed to find a job quickly. Instead, he opened a restaurant. The entire store needed to be remodeled and renovated. There were equipment purchases to be made and supplies to be sourced. Everyone had a job, including their 7-year-old son – me. We opened on Good Friday 1969. We were so busy pulling it all together so we could open on time, none of us realized the date we picked for the Grand Opening was Good Friday. Unbeknownst to my folks, I swiped a box of menus, sneaked away, and walked all over town for several weeks after school, knocking on doors and inviting people to come to the grand opening. I covered just about every house in Atlantic Highlands. We were swamped from the minute we opened the doors at 11 a.m. until closing. A line circled the entire block all day long. When that night was over and we had cleaned up, my father, mother and I sat at one of the tables, exhausted. It was then that I confessed to them what I had done. They were furious that a 7-year-old was wandering around the entire town alone. But then they started to laugh, and I knew I wasn’t really in trouble.
Every building that we tear down is the keeper of the memories of those who lived and worked in those buildings. They are the keepers of our history.”
The article originally appeared in the February 1 – 7, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
