By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – Red Bank officials took another step toward a possible Riverwalk – a public walkway – along the Navesink River, unanimously designating two parcels along the river as areas “in need of rehabilitation” at the latest council meeting.
The two properties are 26-28 Shrewsbury Ave. (Block 39, Lot 31) and the former Exxon gas station at 80 Rector Place (Block 1, Lot 1). The majority of the area adjacent to these properties has been in the borough’s existing rehabilitation zone; these two parcels weren’t.
The rehabilitation designation for these properties was prompted when a developer proposed apartments on the Shrewsbury Avenue property, which is located next to the Red Bank Marina with views of the Senator Kyrillos Bridge and sits along the busy Shrewsbury Avenue corridor across from the Galleria.
During the Aug. 28 borough council meeting, community development director Shawna Ebanks shared that the developer approached the borough with plans for a low-rise development featuring rental and for-sale units.
There would be an easement for public waterfront access provided by the developer granted to the borough. Ebanks said “the developer also agreed that they would renovate that site, creating a mini riverwalk that has always been a goal of the borough, so they have agreed to pay for that and actually create the walkway leading down to the water front.”
Based on the project scope, Ebanks told the council the designation of the site as an area in need of rehabilitation “would be a benefit to the borough’s planning goals and create a welcoming site across the bridge into the municipality.”
The former Exxon gas station at 80 Rector Place presents different challenges. It has been blighted for many years, and the vacantsite has been defaced with graffiti, which has been cleaned up by the borough multiple times. “The site struggles with the history of code enforcement issues,” Ebanks said. She called the site “underutilized” and “deteriorating.”
Ebanks said, although multiple entities have shown interest, there has been “no further push to getting that site developed.”
Sitting at the foot of Cooper’s Bridge, which spans the border between Middletown and Red Bank, the former gas station is perceived as a gateway into the borough but has remained empty despite previous development approvals, including a proposed six-story Hampton Inn that stalled in 2012 due to zoning and legal issues.
A retail cannabis dispensary was approved in 2023 but was blocked due to the borough’s license limits. Ebanks confirmed that there is currently an application to turn the site into a parking lot.
With a temporary permit from the borough, Colony House residents have been using the former gas station site for parking, after losing some spaces to the ongoing construction by developer Saxum Real Estate at the former Visiting Nurse Association headquarters at 176 Riverside Ave.
Rehabilitation and Redevelopment
The rehabilitation designation is “a tool… municipalities use to encourage improvements for the area showing signs of decline or disinvestment,” Ebanks said.
The streamlined process for rehabilitation areas is a “less intensive” process compared to redevelopment. Designating areas for rehabilitation is also an “easier way for municipalities to help create investment into a site,” Ebanks said. Redevelopment usually requires a process that includes a detailed study of the area, community engagement meetings, and planning procedures.
Additionally, a rehabilitation designation offers only a five-year tax abatement on improvements, unlike redevelopment zones that can include 30-year tax exemptions through PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreements.
Borough attorney Greg Cannon further clarified that the five-year tax abatement under the rehabilitation zone is structured as a graduated system rather than a complete tax exemption, adding that the abatement is designed to help property owners offset their initial capital investment when making improvements to properties in the rehabilita- tion zone, with the tax relief decreasing over time as the investment is recouped.
The resolution approved by the council at the Thursday meeting now goes to the planning board for review and recommendation before returning to the council for final approval. If approved, developers in the rehabilitation zone would need to create a redevelopment plan and go through the same community engagement process used for other major projects in town.
Future Riverwalk
Red Bank features approximately four miles of riverfront along the Navesink and Swimming rivers, offering stunning views. Achieving meaningful and continuous waterfront access through a riverwalk has been a goal defined in the Red Bank Master Plan for much of the last 50 years. However, implementing this goal comes with “enormous challenges,” according to the Master Plan revised and adopted in 2023, because of the borough’s fully developed waterfront, including several active marinas and the significant funding required to construct public walkways once easements are obtained.
Several riverfront properties have been boosting the plan for a riverwalk along the Navesink by granting the borough a few feet of buffer along the river for a public walkway.
Most recently, Hackensack Meridian Health Riverview Medical Center granted the borough a 25-foot public access easement along its riverfront property at 103 E. Front St., used by the hospital for parking purposes. The easement does not require the hospital to build anything, but it legally preserves the space so the borough can potentially create a future riverwalk.
Both 26-28 Shrewsbury Ave. and 80 Rector Place are located in the Route 35 gateway section identified in the Master Plan as an area that needs both safety and aesthetic improvements. The Route 35 gateway section, in addition to two other areas – Sunset Park and the Riverview Medical Center area – are included in the Master Plan’s Small Area Plans (SAPs) for upgrades.
The article originally appeared in the September 4 – September 10, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
