business was based
in Freehold for 50 years
Third-generation family
business was based
in Freehold for 50 years
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
The owners of Ace Aluminum, Freehold, have an application pending before the Manalapan Planning Board seeking permission to construct a new building to house the business on Route 9 north near Gordons Corner Road.
MANALAPAN — A business that has called Freehold Borough home for 50 years will soon be moving to Manalapan.
Since 1953, Ace Aluminum has made its home on South Street in the borough. Within the next 18 months, the owner of the business expects to call a new building on Route 9 north his new home.
"We are moving completely out to Route 9 within the next year-and-a-half," said Barry Fisher, owner. "We’ve been in Freehold for 50 years, and for our 50th anniversary we’re making the move. We need more room in our storage area. If we’re going to make the move, then we’re looking for more visibility. When we looked around, we really liked Manalapan. We liked the town. We liked the way it’s run. It’s a good little town and this is where we want to be. It will be a beautiful building and we feel it will be an asset."
Fisher has an application pending before the Planning Board that calls for the demolition of a small building on Route 9 north that houses Rita’s Ices and the construction of a two-story building on that parcel.
Fisher, who has lived in Monmouth County all his life, noted that his son, David, is now the third generation of the family to work in the business.
The owner said the new building will house a showroom and offices for Ace Aluminum in the center of the first floor. Rita’s will be relocated to a retail space on one side of the building and space will be provided for two other stores. The second floor will be used by Ace Aluminum for product storage.
Fisher said the architects, Greg Clark and Daniel Bach, of Bach and Clark Associates, Freehold, did a beautiful job designing the new building.
"They really came up with a masterpiece," he said.
Clark described the building as a steel framed structure clad with synthetic stucco which will have a central accent tower that will set off the building as a recognition point.
"We obviously want to create a statement on that section of Route 9 which is very definitely populated," he said. "We’re doing this through the central tower, the height of the building. It was designed to make a statement, to stand out."
Representatives of Ace Aluminum began describing their plans for the new buildings at the Planning Board’s Jan. 23 meeting. Clark said the building would be used for retail sales and as a warehouse.
"The first level is 8,330 square feet with four retail spaces," the architect said. "One retail space, the main one, will have 2,445 square feet and will be occupied by Ace Aluminum."
A 1,000-square-foot space will be occupied by Rita’s Ices.
"The second level will have warehouse space," said the architect. "There will be a series of canopies in the front. The canopies will be made from a combination of aluminum and canvas."
Attorney Gerald Sonnenblick of Freehold Township, representing the applicant, asked for the width and depth of the new structure and was told by Clark that the building will be 98 feet wide and 85 feet deep. A 17-by-7-foot elevator is located at the rear of the structure.
Project engineer John J. Ploskonka described the property as being in the area of Franklin Lane and Route 9. He said neighboring businesses include the Freeman Funeral Home, Mom’s restaurant, Siperstein’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks.
Ploskonka said most of the Ace Aluminum business consists of picking up doors and windows, taking the materials to customers’ homes and doing the required work at the customers’ homes. The engineer said Ace Aluminum would not generate much traffic at the site, nor would the other planned uses. He did note that Rita’s Ices has a quick turnover of traffic at certain times of the year.
"The total building is about 14,000 square feet," the engineer said.
The building will be serviced by public water and sewer, although there is temporary septic service which will be discontinued when the building is built.
Pending board approval, Ploskonka said he expects the building to be constructed in the fall, probably in November, after the season is over for Rita’s Ices. He also noted that Ace Aluminum usually has three to four employees at its site and that Rita’s has one employee, possibly more, during a busy night in season. Rita’s is closed for the winter.
Ploskonka said some variances will be required, including a variance for the pre-existing non-conforming lot size (7 acres required, 4.4 acres provided); a variance for frontage (200 feet required, 170 feet provided); and a variance for parking spaces (10-by-20-foot spots required, 10-by-18-foot spots proposed).
Examining the traffic and use at the present Rita’s Ices location, Jay Troutman, of McDonough and Rea Associates, Manasquan, supplied the results of a traffic analysis. He determined that peak seasonal hours were 8-9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"We found that peak parking (for Rita’s Ices) was about 28 vehicles," said Troutman. "But the retail (parking) peak occurs earlier in the day and as the retail ebbs down from its maximum, Rita’s begins to spike back up.
"You find that the extra parking is available should the retail be active at night. There would be at least five spaces for each of the other (two) retail users. The Ace Aluminum use is zero because they close at 4:30 p.m."
The traffic engineer noted that traffic flow in and out of the site was adequate.
Mayor Drew Shapiro, who sits on the board, said he was concerned with the amount of possible use from the two other retail stores, since it could not be determined who would be occupying the two remaining retail locations.
Shapiro asked Troutman to return with information or possible calculations regarding use by the other retail stores.
Board member Ron Wishart said he will need some convincing regarding the smaller size of the proposed parking spots, but was pleased with the setback distance from Route 9.
Board member Stephen Pine said he was in favor of the project. He liked the design of the building and said it was a big improvement over the previous structure. It is expected that the Ace Aluminum application will continue to be heard at the board’s March 27 meeting.