Red Bank

Red Bank is a popular year-round destination with a thriving fine and performing arts district, a vibrant downtown, and an eclectic dining culture. Located along the southern bank of the Navesink River, Red Bank has an area of 1.75 square miles. Red Bank began to grow in the latter part of the 19 ^th  century when it started transporting freight to New York via steamboat and railroad. The Borough’s success as a commercial and entertainment destination was stymied in the 1980’s when nearby sprawling highway commercial development and shopping malls pushed shops in Red Bank’s downtown out of business. However, In the early 1990s the Borough created the Red Bank RiverCenter to redevelop its downtown  and designated the downtown as a “Special Improvement District,” jump-starting redevelopment efforts that continue to contribute to Red Bank’s present day success. Source:  www.redbanknj.org ;

Red Bank has significant demand for and development of multifamily and mixed-use projects. The mixed-use West Side Lofts opened in the spring of 2015, and other recent downtown and train station area redevelopment mixed use projects include The Anderson Building and the Element, which opened in 2019. The Red Bank  Redevelopment Agency  was formed in 2019 to manage and focus these efforts in keeping with the borough’s goals for development. In January of 2023, the Borough Planning Board adopted a new  Master Plan , which states that Red Bank’s vision is to “continue to evolve as a diverse, inclusive, and vibrant place for people of all ages and walks of life to call home as well as visit, embracing creativity and innovation while treasuring the elements that make it such a special and attractive community.”  Red Bank plans to achieve this vision by ensuring the Borough is “Connected,” “Balanced,” “Equitable” and “Prepared.” Recommendations in the Master Plan include preserving residential buffers, improving existing pedestrian infrastructure, providing a diverse range of housing options, and promoting historical tourism. Red Bank is home to an established and vibrant  performing and visual arts community. In 2021 the Count Basie Center for the Arts completed an expansion to create an arts, entertainment, and education campus spanning a full block along Monmouth Street. Red Bank remains one of the largest cultural hubs in the County. Other arts organizations located here include the recently expanded Two River Theatre, the Art Alliance of Monmouth County, and the county’s official arts agency, Monmouth Arts. There have been several projects in Red Bank that have been awarded Monmouth County Planning Board Merit Awards, including the T. Thomas Fortune House Historical Renovation and Preservation Project (2018). This African American cultural center and an architecturally complementary multi-family residential development opened in 2019. The following year, the Red Bank Pedestrian Safety Demonstration Project was a recipient for the use of tactical urbanism to better define an intersection to improve vehicular and pedestrian safety. In 2020, the Anderson Building project received the award for transforming an abandoned warehouse into a thriving retail and office hub adjacent to the train station. As a response to businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bank opened a pedestrian only outdoor dining and entertainment space on the north end of Broad Street. Dubbed “The Broadwalk”, the project’s success and popularity has led to it extending past indoor dining restrictions and is scheduled to reopen in 2023. In order to support future street closures, the borough installed hydraulically operated bollards, removing the need to install and remove concrete barriers at every opening and closing of the Broadwalk.

• Average Residential Taxes: $9,427
• Median Home Value: $469,876
• Net Valuation: $2,662,844,382

Source:  New Jersey Department of Community Affairs - Property Tax Tables 

• Residential: 470.4 acres (51.6%)
• Commercial: 162.0 acres (17.7%)
• Industrial: 12.3 acres (1.3%)
• Farmland: 0.0 acres (0.0%)
• Vacant / Undeveloped: 16.1 acres (1.7%)
• Other*: 257.0 acres (28.0%)

*Other contains the following property classes: Unknown, Public Schools, Other School Property, Public Property, Church & Charity, Cemeteries, Other Exempt, Railroad Class I, Railroad Class II

Residential contains the following property classes: Residential, Apartments

Source:  Monmouth County Tax Board ; Compiled by the  Monmouth County Division of Planning 

• Sustainable Jersey Participation Status: Silver

Source:  Sustainable Jersey