Long Branch building growing taller as developer plans 154 assisted-living apartments

Dan Radel, Asbury Park Press
Updated ·2 min read

LONG BRANCH - A former red brick medical building on Third Avenue will be converted to an assisted-living facility with 154 residential rental apartments and ground-floor retail.

The six-story building sits at 279 Third Ave. across the street from the NJ Transit train station, and was acquired by a private developer three years ago. The building was once used for office space for doctors. It is presently surrounded by fencing.

It also lies inside the Transit Village District. The city's goal for the neighborhood is to bring in more housing and businesses while creating bicycle routes, pedestrian activity and easy access to goods and services that are all centered around train station.

Last year the city and NJ Transit secured over $13 million in federal and state funding to build a tunnel at the train station to reconnect the east and west sides of the track that have been blocked off since a sound barrier wall went up in 1988.

This form medical building on Third Avenue in Long Branch will be converted into an assisted-living facility.
This form medical building on Third Avenue in Long Branch will be converted into an assisted-living facility.

Growth in Long Branch: Luxury home builders zero in on Franklin Avenue as older homes give way

The medical campuses along Third and Bath avenues have been going through a transformation. Monmouth Medical Center, part of the RJWBarnabas Health network, donated property to the city that housed the for former Ronald McDonald House on Bath Avenue, which the city is converting into a Health, Wellness and Technology Center, and a two-acre park.

Monmouth Medical Center, meanwhile is constructing a major cancer research and treatment center called the Vogel Medical Campus at Tinton Falls on property that was part of the former Fort Monmouth. The center also added a family care and wellness location at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown.

How do disabled people find housing? Long Branch fair aims for answers to many questions

The building at 279 Third Ave. will be readapted and repurposed. The plan was approved last week by the city's Planning Board and required no variances.

The developer, 279 Development LLC, will add an additional two stories to the existing building. The current brick façade will be replaced with new, more energy-efficient red brick, according to the Conrad Roncati, the architect who made the design. Of the 154 apartments, 119 of them will be studios and 35 will be one-bedroom. A total of 16 will be set aside for low- to moderate-income renters.

The penthouse and roof area will include an interior multipurpose room and an exterior community space on the roof, since the property itself has very limited outside spaces for residents. The rooftop will be serviceable by an elevator.

The first floor will have close to 11,000 square feet of retail. Roncati said they haven't had talks yet with potential tenants, but they are planning to have four separate spaces and are envisioning a coffee shop, convenience store or clothing boutique.

Long Branch growth: Apartments, stores near Kushner project get initial OK for North Broadway

When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Long Branch assisted-living apartments coming next to train station