Meeting On 1,000 Apartments At Monmouth Mall To Be Held Wednesday

EATONTOWN, NJ — Eatontown Mayor Anthony Talerico, Jr. will hold his fifth public meeting this Wednesday night, July 20, regarding a proposal from Kushner Cos. to build 1,000 apartment units at Monmouth Mall.

This will be an informal town-hall meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Eatontown borough hall and any member of the public is welcome to attend and give their feedback.

The plan for apartments was hatched by both the borough of Eatontown and Kushner Cos., the owner of Monmouth Mall. Kushner Cos. would like to build 1,000 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The new residential complex would be called "Monmouth Village" and would also have walking and biking trails around it.

The mall's retail footprint will be reduced by about 25,000 square feet, citing a nationwide decline in retail. The J.C. Penney at the mall will also be closing, possibly as early as October.

So far this summer, Talerico has held four public meetings on the proposal, meeting at the Eatontown Starbucks and twice at the community center. The proposal will also formally be discussed at next week's July 27 Eatontown Council meeting, held at borough hall at 7 p.m. Again, the public is welcome to attend that meeting, as well.

A representative from Kushner will be at the July 27 meeting.

Talerico stressed that residential housing at Monmouth Mall is something Kushner and the borough of Eatontown arrived at "together."

"This was the result of a series of discussions," said Talerico. "They (Kushner) didn't just come to us and say 'Do this.' This was the result of a collaborative effort. We are currently trying to gauge public opinion on this. 1,000 units may make some people upset. But we have to create some kind of product that will yield ratables so we can collect taxes for this site."

Currently, there are many empty storefronts at Monmouth Mall and the entire mall was at risk of foreclosure 2 1/2 ago when the pandemic started. Kushner Cos. assumed full ownership of the mall at that time, purchasing it at the auction block with a $110 million loan.

Monmouth Mall needs to start making money again, said Talerico.

"In general, I will say we are actually receiving a lot of support for this," said Talerico. "There are Eatontown residents who understand that the world is changing and that the mall needs to change. We need a vibrant retail center there. Yes, there are also residents who say 1,000 apartments is too many units. And we are hearing from residents who are concerned with traffic on Rts. 35 and 36, where will all these new residents park and can our sewers handle this. All of these concerns will be addressed with Kushner at the July 27 public meeting."

Initial report: 1,000 Apartments Considered At Monmouth Mall, J.C. Penney Closing