By Laura D.C. Kolnoski
OCEANPORT – The governing bodies of Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls have 45 days to review and comment on an amendment to the developer’s plan for setbacks for the redevelopment project at the fort’s former Nurses Quarters along Main Street.
The 3.75-acre site, first offered for sale by FMERA in 2015, was purchased by RPM Development Group of Montclair in 2019. Located next to the former Patterson Army Health Clinic – now AcuteCare Management Services, LLC – the Nurses Quarters were built in 1962. The site’s reincarnation will include 34 residential units. Two existing buildings will be adaptively reused for 24 one- and two- bedroom residential units, and 10 new three-bedroom townhomes will be constructed. The townhomes will face Main Street, which residents will use for ingress and egress. Oceanport officials have been working with RPM to resolve what Mayor Jay Coffey called related “concerns.”
“The planning board originally wanted a 30-foot setback,” Coffey said, adding, “Our planning board is very particular and ask good questions. RPM did a much better job of explaining the limitations of the property and how they are using the existing property in this development. It was a matter of more complete information and data; why they can and can’t do certain things.” A separate ingress and egress for emergency vehicles has been arranged with Acute Care’s owner, Coffey said.
The amendment stipulates the development create “a compact pedestrian friendly environment along Main Street allowing… more flexible and useable open spaces for the western section of the parcel.”
The maximum height of the townhomes cannot exceed three stories or 40 feet. The building setback on Stephenson Avenue and Main Street will be a minimum of 15 feet from the property line. Patios, walkways, steps and landscaping will be permitted within the setback area. No parking or driveways are permitted between the new townhomes and Main Street. A single access driveway to the site from Main Street is permitted and a minimum five-foot-wide sidewalk will be installed. The use of green infrastructure measures such as permeable pavers, electric vehicle charging stations, rain gardens and bio-retention basins, native plants and vegetation is encouraged.
Comments from the three municipal governing bodies will be submitted to FMERA at the close of the 45-day comment period to be evaluated by staff and voting members before a vote on the amendment is taken.
Montclair’s RPM Development previously purchased and renovated the fort’s former 100-year-old Officers Housing area into the East Gate residential project, completed about two years ago.
The article originally appeared in the March 31 – April 6, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
