Long Branch Kills Lower Broadway Plan, Blames Developer

LONG BRANCH, NJ — On Thursday, Long Branch Mayor John Pallone announced the city terminated a redevelopment agreement and 30-year tax abatement with the owners of Lower Broadway.

Those owners are Long Branch Partners, LLC.

Mayor Pallone said he and the city council became increasingly dissatisfied with Long Branch Partners because "they failed to meet many benchmarks and refused to stick to a timeline," said the city in a press release, issued Feb 25. "After many given opportunities, the council has decided that it is in the best interest of the city to not wait any longer and to end the agreement."

"We made it very clear to Long Branch Partners that we would hold their feet to the fire and hold them to the standards that they agreed to," said Pallone. "They simply did not hold up their end of the deal, so we are taking away the abatement."

In 2017, Long Branch Partners unveiled an ambitious $175 million plan to revitalize the Lower Broadway area, as Patch reported at the time. The project included 590 rental apartments, with proposed rents of $2,000 a month, 99,500-square feet of retail space, two parking decks and road improvements. The buildings would have been five stories high, with retail and restaurants on the first floor and four stories of apartments above.

Lower Broadway is a run-down part of Long Branch that has seen much of its retail close in the past 30 years.

The problem is nothing was ever built. Long Branch Partners tore down several dilapidated buildings in the area, but no new construction was ever started. They were then supposed to sell some of the properties to Kushner Cos., plus some associated liquor licenses, but that deal fell through; Long Branch Partners and Kushner are in a continued legal battle, the Asbury Park Press reported this week.

Nicholas Minoia, an owner of Long Branch Partners, had no comment for the Asbury Park Press when asked about the city killing the deal.

Long Branch Partners is part of Diversified Realty Advisors, a New Jersey-based development company. Minoia did not immediately respond when called by Patch Friday morning.

In 2015, Long Branch Partners sued the city of Long Branch, seeking $75 million in damages, citing what they said was years of delays by the city as the company tried to develop Lower Broadway.

"We want to get redevelopment projects moving in the city," said Long Branch Council President Mario Vieira. "Long Branch is in a better position now to attract new investments. We just can't wait around when there are a lot of new opportunities."

"Revitalizing Lower Broadway is still very important to us, but we are not interested in continuing this agreement when nothing is being done," said Pallone.

Initial Patch report: Mixed-Use Plan For Lower Broadway Unveiled (2017)

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