Planning board approves minor amendment for 316 Main Street project, including unit mix and facade changes

The Asbury Park Planning Board voted Jan. 27 to approve an amendment to the 316 Main Street project (Block 2508, Lot 1), changing the apartment mix and modifying the building's front facade and roofline.

The approved amendment keeps the building's total unit count at 24 but alters the unit mix from the previously approved plan: the project will have 9 two-bedroom units and 15 one-bedroom units. Counsel for the applicant, Andrew Garris, described the change as a reconfiguration of floor plans; engineer Louis Zuegner and architect Obiora Agudosi provided testimony and revised plans dated Aug. 30, 2024, with a supplemental sheet dated Jan. 27, 2025, added that included penthouse calculations.

The applicant also withdrew an architectural overhang that previously extended into the state right-of-way after repeated unsuccessful attempts to obtain a response or permission from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Board testimony said the overhang had been a corner design detail above the first floor; the amendment pulls the facade back to align with the property line and eliminates the projection into the State Highway 71 right-of-way. That change reduced the overall roof area and required a slight reduction in penthouse footprint so the penthouse area now measures 19.2% of the roof area, which the applicant stated complies with the CBD redevelopment requirements.

Witnesses confirmed other plan details: the project retains ground-floor retail, and the parking and site access arrangement remains as previously approved (the originally approved site plan noted 19 parking spaces and access via 700 Banks Avenue). The applicant submitted colored elevations and revised plan sheets showing the pulled-back corner treatment and clarified that the building materials and window patterns would remain consistent with the approved elevations even though the corner articulation would be flatter.

Board members asked multiple technical questions about how much projection was removed (witnesses estimated the previous projection was on the order of 12'18 inches at Main Street and less on the Banks Avenue side), penthouse calculations, balconies, and unit square footage. The applicant said two-bedroom units are about 718 square feet and the one-bedroom-plus-study units are roughly 764 square feet; the board heard that some balcony and terrace elements remained on the second floor and that balconies on upper floors were not full walk-out balconies.

After discussion and a public comment period with no speakers, the board moved and approved the amendment by roll-call vote. The planner and architect said the revised plans better conform to the property limits and comply with previously imposed conditions except for the listed, documented changes.

Votes at a glance: Motion to approve amendment to prior site-plan approval for 316 Main Street (316 Main Avenue, LLC) to revise unit mix, remove facade overhang into state right-of-way, and reduce penthouse area — APPROVED by roll-call (board recorded affirmative votes from all present members on the motion).

The board directed staff to include the Jan. 27, 2025 revised drawings and the supplemental penthouse calculations as part of the approval record and to reflect in the final resolution that all unchanged prior conditions remain in effect.