Kushner Project Gets Site Plan Approval

Kushner is the designated developer for the Wesley Lake portion of Oceanfront Asbury, a 56-acre project that will ultimately build out to 3,000 residential units and 450,000 sf of shopping and entertainment. Asbury Partners LLC is the master developer of the $1.3-billion project, and one of its responsibilities in that capacity is to hire developers like Kushner for individual components of Oceanfront Asbury (see earlier stories).

Kushner's 750 homes will be built in four phases. The first phase, which encompasses two city blocks, had earlier gotten approvals from the city council's technical review committee, from the local redevelopment authority and the city council itself.

"We're proud of the fact that the approval process was completed in such a thorough and cooperative manner," says Jeffrey Freireich, vice chairman and managing partner of the Florham Park, NJ-based Kushner. "If the entitlement process continues, we expect to break ground by this summer.

"That would make us the first company with a shovel in the ground," Freireich continues. "Now that we have received site plan approval, we will initiate the completed design, which includes electrical, mechanical and structural details."

Phase one of the Wesley Lake plan was designed by the architectural firm of Minno & Wasko of Lambertville, NJ. The two art deco-style condo buildings will step down from four stories at their front along Cookman Avenue, to two stories along Lake Avenue. The nearby townhomes will have private yards and courtyards, and the phase will also include more than 330 parking spaces.

The overall project, which encompasses much of this city's Atlantic Ocean beachfront, is expected to take up to 10 years to complete. Restoration of the city's boardwalk and several adjacent structures began last year.