RED BANK — The borough Planning Board gave K. Hovnanian the go-ahead this week to build its new corporate headquarters on the banks of the Navesink River in Red Bank.
Before voting for approval, however, the board got the developer to agree to install fire hydrants on North Maple Avenue where none are now located, and worked out the details of a 25-foot easement and public promenade along the north side of the site.
"Right now there’s no water supply down there for fire protection," observed Stanley Sickels, borough administrator and fire marshal, at the Planning Board hearing. "There’s nothing there and it makes sense to extend the main now," said Sickels, noting that the closest hydrants are on West Front Street.
After a brief negotiation, representatives of the developer agreed to extend the water main and install hydrants on north Maple Avenue prior to completion of the project. The detail will be stipulated in the developer’s agreement, to be drafted by Planning Board Attorney Michael Leckstein.
Plans for the new headquarters of the nation’s eighth largest homebuilder call for a three-story office building with a four-level parking garage beneath. The 65,200- square-foot building will be situated on a 1.56-acre parcel that slopes to the river on the north, and is bounded by Maple and Riverside avenues and West Front Street.
Central to the design by Hillier Group, Princeton, is an elliptical, 51-foot high glass rotunda and wide glass expanses that provide river views. Interior space is arranged around a central atrium that will allow natural light to flood the space.
The plan also calls for a 25-foot public easement along the Navesink and a public promenade, which may eventually connect to similar riverside walkways planned along the borough’s riverfront.
The board approved variances for lot coverage: 46 percent where 35 percent is permitted, and a front setback of 5 feet where 35 feet is required. Both variances were necessary to accommodate the 272-space parking garage and will be mitigated by onsite parking and landscape features. The project provides 44 percent open space where 15 percent is required.
This week’s hearing was K. Hovnanian’s second appearance before the Planning Board. At a hearing last month, board members praised the design but withheld final approval because of concerns about the traffic impact of the project, which will be located in the Waterfront Development Zone at the intersection of Maple Avenue and West Front Street, one of the borough’s busiest.
In the interim, Borough Engineer Richard Kosenski told The Hub he contacted the state Department of Transportation and received assurances that improvements to traffic control at three intersections affected by the project will be made. These include installation of a three-phase signal and dedicated turn lanes at the intersection of Maple Avenue and West Front Street, and signals at the intersection of Maple Avenue, White and Water streets.
K. Hovnanian has had a Red Bank address since 1978 when the home-building giant moved to corporate headquarters at 10 Route 35. The building’s copper-colored glass facade sits just north of Coopers Bridge. Staff eventually overflowed into another building across the highway.
The new building, targeted for completion in 2004, will consolidate the developer’s management staff. Both buildings on Route 35 will be vacated.