By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – The plan to build an apartment building and retail space on the corner of Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place to replace the former Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) headquarters is gaining momentum.
Developer Saxum Real Estate is in an agreement with the borough to redevelop the VNA site into a five-story, 212-unit multifamily development, with 32 affordable housing units on the nearly three-acre site. The site covers a cluster of properties purchased over the years, most prominently, the former VNA building at 176 Riverside Ave. and a few adjoining lots, including the recently purchased parking lot on the same block from Colony House apartments at the mouth of Bodman Place.
A resolution approving the updates in Saxum’s redevelopment agreement was approved at last Thursday’s borough council meeting, allowing continued progress on the project.
Saxum purchased the Colony House parking lot in April 2024. According to the resolution, the update also revises the project schedule to account for delays caused by legal disputes over the project in 2022.
The nonprofit VNA Health Group vacated the 1960s-era building in 2017 to relocate to the Vonage headquarters in Holmdel. In 2019, Saxum was designated as the exclusive redeveloper for the site, and the project received approval from the Red Bank planning board later that year.
The new development on the property, which wraps around a corner of Route 35 at Coopers Bridge, will feature 10,700 square feet of co-working space, 2,350 square feet of retail food space, and parking facilities, with expansive views of the Navesink River. According to a promotional video posted by Saxum online, the building will contain a variety of amenities, including a pool, fitness center, club room, outdoor rooftop lounge and café.
While the completion date for the project has not been announced yet, the following timeline shows Saxum’s work on the redevelopment of the site.
March 13, 2019: The borough adopts Resolution 19- 67, designating Saxum Real Estate as the exclusive redeveloper for 176 Riverside Ave. and adjacent properties, authorizing a redevelopment agreement.
May 6, 2019: Saxum and the borough sign the redevelopment agreement.
Dec. 16, 2019: The Red Bank Planning Board approves site plans for the project.
Feb. 5, 2020: Park Ridge, LLC, representing the Colony House apartments at 122 Bodman Place, located at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place, files a lawsuit challenging the planning board’s approval of the redeveloper’s plan.
March 31, 2022: The legal dispute is resolved, with Saxum agreeing to purchase Colony House’s parking lot in exchange for providing 60 parking spaces for Colony House residents in its new parking lot with a capacity of over 400 parking spaces.
May 16, 2022: The planning board grants amended site plan approvals, including variances and exceptions, for the project’s construction of 212 residential units, 32 of which are affordable.
April 9, 2024: Saxum closes on the purchase of Colony House’s parking lot, finalizing the total cluster of properties included in the project.
May 8, 2024: The planning board extends approvals for the project to May 16, 2025.
The purpose of the resolution approved Thursday is “to tie up all of the lots with new lot numbers and all their (Saxum’s) land use approvals together,” borough attorney Greg Cannon said in response to resident Stephen Hecht’s inquiry about the project’s status.
“They’re going through resolution compliance with Shawna (Ebanks, borough director of Community Development) and the board engineer as well, and preparing to see construction permits in order to construct the project,” Cannon noted.
To Hecht’s question whether the additional lot would create more affordable housing units, Cannon said, “There’s been a change in the land, but there’s not more affordable units or a change in the scope of the project, as far as I understand.”
The project is part of the downtown redevelopment effort, with the current resolution addressing the final administrative steps before construction. The new building with an affordable housing element also aligns with the municipality’s goals to meet the state-mandated fair share housing requirements within its borders.
The article originally appeared in the March 20 – March 26, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
