Heritage at Manalapan OK'd with 63 homes, affordable apartment buildings, stores

MANALAPAN - Plans for a 63 single-family home neighborhood that includes two three-story apartment buildings at the intersection of Route 33 and Sawgrass Drive received unanimous preliminary approval by the planning board.

The neighborhood, dubbed the Heritage at Manalapan, would also have a 15,000-square-foot retail building at the corner facing Route 33. The two apartment buildings would contain 30 affordable units, with six one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom units and six three-bedroom units.

Unlike market-rate housing, which is sold by developers, affordable housing is brokered by affordable housing agencies, which verify income requirements and often have waitlists for apartments. After projects receive final approval, affordable housing agencies are chosen.

The Heritage at Manalapan is part of the township’s affordable housing settlement agreement.

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At Thursday night’s planning board meeting, the board requested a construction phasing plan, a truck circulation plan and more landscaping between the retail building and the residential houses.

The board’s engineer. Jordan Rizzo, expressed concern that if the developer only built the residential portions of the property and not the retail building, the plans would have to be redesigned.

After initially arguing that the residential development could stand on its own without the retail portion, the developer’s attorney Ronald Shimanowitz agreed to provide a construction phasing plan and receive final approval from all phases of the plan before beginning construction.

Jennifer Beahm, the board's planner, asked that a circulation plan for trucks larger than a box truck be provided.

Karl Pehnke, the developer’s traffic engineer, said, “You don’t want to overdesign something for a very infrequent or rare condition.” He agreed to provide a plan.

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Board member Todd Brown noted that backyards of about nine houses abut the parking lot of the retail building. He asked that the developer add more landscaping to create a thicker barrier.

“Can that be beefed up and improved to do the best we possibly can without compromising your retaining wall and your stormwater?” Brown asked.

Scott Turner, the engineer’s developer, agreed to work with the township’s arborist on a plan to increase landscaping behind the retail space.

Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Heritage at Manalapan OK'd with 63 homes, 30 affordable apartments