RED BANK - Nestled behind a row of Front Street shops is a muddy square plot overlooking the Navesink River.

“The view is great,” Mayor Pasquale Menna said. “The property is not that beautiful.”

According to Menna, for 30 years, it was a “dirty, ramshackle parking lot.”

On Tuesday, developers from Denholtz Properties broke ground to start transforming it into a 10-unit condominium project called Southbank at the Navesink, two years after its approval.

Steven Denholtz, CEO of Denholtz Properties, said the waterfront residences are planned to be completed in 15 months and will cost over $1.5 million each.

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Denholtz said his company had just received approval from New Jersey’s Department of Community Affairs to advertise and promote the property.

In a tight housing market, Denholtz said a couple of people have already expressed interest in buying a condo.

Denholtz Properties, which owns five commercial properties in Red Bank, is also building The Rail, a 57-unit apartment building with ground floor retail space, near Red Bank’s train station. Denholtz estimates that an apartment at The Rail will start at $2,500 per month. The Rail is scheduled to be completed in early 2022.

“We have a really strong desire to be more urban,” Denholtz said.

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Both residential projects come in a spate of new residential development in town. Shrewsbury Manor apartments, a two-story, 10-unit building, and Park Valley Development, which is building a four-story, 32-unit building, both won approval in August. A five-story, 210-unit building by Saxum Real Estate won approval in December 2019, but is mired in a dispute over a zoning designation — a dispute that could result in a huge tax break.

The million-dollar condominium and the market-rate apartments are courting two specific demographics according to Menna — entry-level young people and exit-level old people or those downgrading to a more manageable property.

“What keeps a downtown healthy and constantly vibrant is new housing stock. And this is a good project, which will put residential people in the heart of the downtown,” Menna said. “Red Bank needs new housing. Not everyone of the next generation wants a rambling Victorian house that was built in 1901. They don’t have the patience for it. They want something more akin to their generation.”

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Menna said such new development would bring more foot traffic into Red Bank and keep the borough economically viable.

The previous owner of the lot, K Hovnanian, had been approved to build a six-story, 24-unit apartment building in the early 2000s, but ultimately did not build on the lot, instead selling to Denholtz Properties.

Menna said he appreciated when developers “mold their application to the reality and still accomplish their goal.”

In a small town with an urban vibe, building height can be a concern among residents and borough officials. Menna said. “A development like this is not a massive development. It’s 10 units. … So, I’m not talking about 50-story high rises.”

Denholtz said Red Bank is “just a great place to be, a great place to live. The rivers, the water, the lifestyle. It’s a nice town.”

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

RED BANK, NJ: On the east coast, there are several types of oysters but only one species called the Atlantic. This class makes up 85% of the oysters harvested in the U.S.

Generally, these have a smooth, tear drop-shaped shell with ridges. Our east coast oysters taste brinier with a more savory (not sweet) finish than their west coast counterparts.

With over 2,100 acres of natural waterway, several groups have taken stewardship of the Navesink River by monitoring the water quality, pollution issues, marine habitat, and nurturing fish stocks.

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It’s a bounty of beauty to behold the wildlife the Navesink supports – Ospreys, Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets and Bald Eagles just to name a few.

And why are they back? Because the river has been cleaned up which provides fish and other species for all the creatures that inhabit the river.

What’s missing? Oysters!

Several years ago, the nonprofit NY/NJ Baykeeper installed an oyster reef in the Navesink but was told by the State to remove it. Their argument was that the reputation of the New Jersey Shellfish Industry could be harmed because oysters could be poached and sold as “safe” causing harm to the public.

Which brings us to the groups rallying to bring back oysters to the Navesink River, not only for consumption but for the benefits that they offer.

Oysters are natural filter feeders. They feed by pumping water through their gills, trapping particles of food as well as nutrients, suspended sediments and chemical contaminants. Each one can filter up to 50 gallons per day! Through this process, oysters help keep the water clean and clear for underwater grasses and other aquatic life.

They also serve as barriers to storms and tides that prevent erosion and protect estuary waters. Introducing oysters and oyster reefs back to the Navesink would be a vital component in keeping the Navesink River healthy and vibrant.

The Navesink Maritime Heritage Association, the NY/NJ Baykeeper, Clean Ocean Action, the Littoral Society, and many others are asking for your support by completing a survey that will push the restoration efforts forward.

Take the survey! Click HERE to enter your name and ZIP code to show your support for bringing oysters back to the Navesink River.

For more information on the benefits of oysters to waterways, click HERE.

Doing the little things can make a big difference.

To read previous TAPinto Red Bank articles on oyster restoration efforts, click HERE and HERE.

If you enjoyed this article please “Like” and “Follow” us on the TAPinto Red Bank Facebook page, and sign up for our daily e-news so you’ll never miss what’s happening in Red Bank!

And please share this article with your friends and family!

Know a local story we should share with readers? Email Editor E. Scott Wingerter and tell him about it

The Navesink and Shrewsbury river channels will get dredged next year in a $26 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineer maintenance project.

The Corps will dredge the entrance of the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers at Sandy Hook as well as the Navesink River to the Route 35 Bridge in Red Bank and the Shrewsbury River as far as the Branchport Avenue Bridge in Long Branch, said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., who announced the project on Wednesday.

The total distance of the dredge work is 14 miles.

Pallone, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the funding for dredge work comes out of the House's Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development spending bill for next year's budget.

The channels, which are federally maintained, are critical to the recreational boating and fishing industries to navigate on the rivers, and the overall health of the rivers which are already stressed from pollution and flooding.

See the above video about water testing on the rivers.

“Our residents have been very concerned and vocal about this issue because the Shrewsbury River's health directly impacts all of Oceanport and the surrounding communities," said Oceanport Mayor Jay Coffey, in a prepared statement on the project.

Steve Remaley, owner of Red Bank Marina, told the press the channel water levels are low, but so is the muck bottom outside the channels. He would like to see future dredging done outside of the channels.

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Capt. Dan Schade, who runs river cruises on his two boats the Mariner and the paddlewheel Navesink Queen, said he can't go past the Oceanic Bridge on a low tide due to sandbars in the channel.

"The only time you can do it is on a high tide or you risk running aground. This good news that they're dredging it," Schade said.

“The economic and recreational impact of the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers cannot be underestimated for Middletown and its the surrounding municipalities,” said Middletown Mayor Tony Perry in a prepared statement.

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.

An undetermined species of Vibrio bacteria is causing the death of menhaden baitfish in the Monmouth County waters, state environmental and wildlife officials have said.

Menhaden, a critical fish in the marine food web, have been spotted belly up or rotting on the banks of the Oceanport and Branchport creeks, two feeder creeks to the Shrewsbury River, at Marine Park in Red Bank on the Navesink River, as well as along the Raritan Bay shoreline.

The fish kills have generally been a few hundred fish each.

Larry Hajna, a spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Protection or DEP, said the Division of Fish & Wildlife is investigating the mortalities and others that occurred in the fall.

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He said Fish & Wildlife has preliminarily identified an undetermined species of bacteria in the Vibrio family of bacteria as the cause of the mortalities. Vibrio species are quite diverse and common in marine habitats, Hajna said.

"More laboratory work is being done to determine the specific species of bacteria. The DEP is also working with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to better understand the mortalities," Hajna said.

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The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is the federal agency that manages the stock of menhaden, or bunker as they're also known, along the East Coast.

The fish are commonly used for bait by fishermen and crabbers and are a high source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Coastwide commercial netters can harvest 214,289 tons of menhaden a year. Most of that is processed in Reedsville, Virginia, by Omega Protein for fishmeal and dietary supplements.

Vibrio bacteria have been known to cause illnesses in humans such as gastroenteritis.

Jeff Tittle, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the mortalities are a red flag for serious issues affecting the water quality.

"The Vibrio bacteria causing these fish kills is primarily linked to nutrient pollution from sewage, septic and stormwater runoff. It’s also linked to warmer water, which is connected to climate change. ... This is a direct result of the DEP’s failure to deal with water pollution from nutrients and raw sewage,” Tittel said.

As of now, the DEP said the only fish being affected is the menhaden.

Hajna said there is nothing to suggest human health or other fish, shellfish or wildlife are at risk, but with any wildlife Fish & Wildlife recommends people do not handle, collect or consume any dead fish or those showing signs of disease.

Hajna said similar mortalities have been reported in other parts of the Northeastern U.S.

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.