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Vintage car buffs may soon have a place to store their automobiles in downtown Asbury Park.

The planning board recently recommended approval for a storage garage for classic cars to occupy a long-vacant warehouse [above in foreground] stretching between Bangs and Summerfield Avenues. The garage may soon be home to an ancillary social club, as well.

The city council has final say. Last week, the council introduced an ordinance to approve the use. Next step is a public hearing after which the council can vote on the ordinance. The building was last occupied years ago by a wholesale meat distributor.

Jay Harman, the property’s purchasing agent, attended the recent planning board meeting to tell the board his plans for the new business.

“Asbury Park has a rich history of not only music but automobiles,” Harman said. “We have a unique concept to start a warehouse for classic cars for folks who don’t have room at home or don’t want to put them in a regular garage.”

After renovations, the front of the warehouse on Bangs Avenue will open as a separate retail space. There will be office space on the second floor. The Summerfield Avenue entrance will lead to the garage. The complete square-footage of the structure is about 12,000.

In two or three years, an ancillary social club with a mezzanine will be installed, Harman said. Those who join the social club will be able to gather on the mezzanine overlooking the vintage cars below. The garage’s ceilings are 19 feet high.

The developers will bring a nearby parking lot and loading dock “up to grade” to provide access to the warehouse for the vehicles themselves, Harman said.

The planning board had to review this proposal because an automotive storage and ancillary social club do not comply with the current central business district [CBD] redevelopment plan. Those business owners whose plans do not comply with the CBD’s approved uses must go before the board to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and then obtain city council approval.

 

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