By Stephen Appezzato
MIDDLETOWN – The township’s planning board unanimously approved an application this week for a large-scale residential building at 331 Newman Springs Road, part of the River Centre South Redevelopment Plan. The approval came after hours of testimony and an airing of concerns from residents. It will permit Avalon Middletown Urban Renewal LLC to proceed with a 340-unit residential building and a standalone Starbucks coffee shop with a drive-thru, located near the Garden State Parkway exit 109, along Newman Springs Road.
“This is going to include a single residential apartment building, which is comprised of 340 residential apartments,” said attorney Rick Brodsky at the meeting. The five-story building will include studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units, along with 19 designated affordable housing units. Due to the varying bedroom counts, these units will result in 34 affordable housing credits for the township.
“Currently, there’s an office park that’s located on the property,” Brodsky said, which is 85% occupied. “The property that will house the new building is essentially between those existing of- fice buildings and the Garden State Parkway.” One smaller building that currently provides amenities to the offices will be removed.
According to architect Nando Micale, the architectural design of the plan “gives an overall residential feel to a building of this size.”
In addition to the residential structure, the development includes a standalone Starbucks with a drive-thru, a parking garage within the residential structure, and maintains a small trail allowing public access to the Swimming River.
According to project engineer Daniel Sehnal, the plan conforms to the River Centre South Redevelopment Plan, which was approved in 2023, with only two minor variances. Sehnal said access to the site will be primarily through a signalized intersection on Newman Springs Road (CR-520), with additional access via right-turn and left-turn-only lanes.
Public Opposition
Following testimony from Avalon Middletown Urban Renewal’s experts, members of the public posed questions and expressed concerns about the development, voicing strong opposition during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Lora Smith-Staines, who leads the local advocacy group Save Our Swimming River, questioned the size of the riparian buffer, noting that only a 50-foot buffer was proposed, while state watershed regulations require up to 300 feet of buffer depending on the sensitivity of a nearby waterway.
Sehnal explained the location of the site, near the Swimming River, is downstream from the Swimming River Reservoir. While the reservoir is a Category 1 waterbody, the downstream river is not and is not subject to the 300-foot riparian buffer.
Lincroft resident Ester Nelson asked about safety concerns related to the steep slope leading to the public river access. Sehnal said there is already an existing stairway that leads to a gravel trail down to the river, which will be improved for safety, although it is not designed as an ADA-compliant sidewalk. “If a railing is required on the stair set, it will be installed,” he said.
Addressing the traffic impact of the proposed development, traffic engineer Craig Peregoy gave an overview of his analysis to the planning board, which analyzed traffic along Route 520 during weekday morning and evening rush hours using data from May. The study factored in traffic generated by the existing office complex, the proposed residential building and the Starbucks.
“There is enough capacity at that particular intersection to handle the amount otraffic that will come in and out,” Peregoy said of the main access point to the site. He acknowledged the area’s congestion, but said the project’s site access functions within existing capacity.
“I know that area is congested,” he said. “We are adding a small piece to that. But our particular site access, which is under the purview of this board, does not need any improvements, upgrades or time changes,” he said.
Michael Nesci, a resident and member of the Tinton Falls Planning Board, said the project’s impact extends beyond Middletown’s borders.
“I know we make really hard decisions on the planning boards, and this is a great facility – the architect was fantastic and the landscape architect was amazing, but the fact is, how many times are we going to let another building come in and negatively impact our community?” he said.
“Yes, we have traffic, and you’re adding just a little bit more here and a little bit more there; it’s just going to keep adding up. When do we draw the line? If it were my planning board, if it were my vote, I’d vote no,” Nesci said.
Ellen Volker, also of Tinton Falls, expressed concern about the character of the area being eroded.
“When I look at this, I feel like I’m looking at Hoboken. That’s not Monmouth County, that’s not this area,” she said. “We’re seeing a tremendous amount of growth as we’ve lived here and that’s understandable.”
But “as a planning board, your responsibility is to your residents, to the people who are in your area. Once this is done, it’s not going to be able to be undone,” she urged.
Smith-Staines echoed traffic concerns and urged the board to think critically.
“Monmouth County is quickly being subsumed and overdeveloped,” she said. “I truly hope that you will sincerely and critically consider the plans, studies and reports before you, and not just permit every variance, permit or waiver,” she said.
Melanie Elmiger, a director of the Lincroft Village Green Association, criticized the project’s design and purpose.
“This development is pretending to be something it is not. It’s pretending to be good for people that need affordable housing,” she said.
Instead, “it sticks out like a sore thumb and it invades what is right now a very bucolic protected area with the Swimming River. This application screams of greed.”
The Lincroft Village Green Association has raised concerns about the traffic and safety impact the development could have along Newman Springs Road.
Despite the concerns voiced by residents at the meeting, the planning board voted unanimously to approve the application, as the development met the conditions of the township’s designated redevelopment area.
The article originally appeared in the July 3 – July 9, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
