Middletown lauded for exemplary planning FREEHOLD - Four separate projects from around the county, including two from Middletown, received awards last week at the 54th Monmouth County Planning Board Awards Dinner. At the dinner, held in Freehold, awards were given to highlight projects that serve as examples of exemplary planning. This year, four Merit Awards were presented: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, received a Merit Award for its Solar Panel Installation Project. Through this project, Monmouth University installed solar panels on the roofs of four campus buildings. Benefits associated with the project include energy cost-savings as well as reduced emissions of such pollutants as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. The carbon emission reductions over the next 30 years are equivalent to the planting of 1,500 acres of trees. Middletown received a Merit Award in recognition of the work done by the township in establishing a task force to revitalize the Campbell's Junction business district. The Campbell's Junction area of Middletown is an older commercial and transit center that had begun to experience physical and economic decline, according to a county press release. Middletown formed a task force to develop a plan to halt and reverse the deterioration of the area and to establish a vision for its future. The task force worked with Brookdale Community College's architecture program to develop a concept plan for the area that addresses such issues as architectural improvements, signage, pedestrian access, parking and public space. Initiatives to revitalize the area have included facade and streetscape improvements, the addition of second-floor residential units to commercial buildings to enhance the mixed-use character and density of the area, and the redevelopment of abandoned property. Campbell's Junction historically served as a transit hub for regional trolley lines and is still served by two NJ Transit local bus routes, as well as the county's new Dock & Roll Shuttle Bus service. To accommodate enhanced transit service and further reinforce Campbell's Junction as a transit hub, the county and Middletown worked together to develop a traditional transit hub concept as part of the county's recently adopted Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan. The revitalization of the Campbell's Junction area will reassert Campbell's Junction as a regional transit hub. Freeholder Barbara J. McMorrow presented the award to Middletown Deputy Mayor Pamela Brightbill and Middletown Planner Anthony Mercantante. The Noglows Building in Red Bank received a Merit Award because the consistency of the building's design and appearance with the existing character of the business district is commendable. The Noglows Building is a three-story, 10,000-square-foot office/retail structure, erected on an empty lot between two existing buildings. Its contemporary design has traditional architectural elements such as cornices and columns. The exterior's belt courses and lintels provide simple, clean lines to complement the streetscape. The change in appearance from the ground floor to the upper two floors expresses the different uses; the first floor is retail and the upper stories provide office space. The Noglows Building has large clear glass areas that display the products of the first-floor shop and contribute to the existing pedestrian friendly streetscape. The building incorporates traditional architectural elements such as cornices and arched windows that are part of Red Bank's "American Main Street" charm. The use of traditional materials such as the red brick exterior and white stucco cornices make it consistent with its neighbors. Middletown received a Merit Award for its Stout-Tucker House Restoration Project because of the work done by the township in support of the restoration and adaptive reuse of this historic structure, which has been a fixture along Kings Highway East for about 200 years. In 1984, the house and nearby property were sold to a developer which obtained approval for the development of 17 townhouses on the site with the condition that the historic house be restored and sold as the 18th unit in the development. Before the project was complete, the developer went bankrupt. Facing a stalled restoration process, the township drafted a plan whereby, to keep the character of the home intact as well as to serve the community, the exterior of the home would be restored to its period design while the interior would be converted into small apartments. To complete the project, the township selected a private builder. The township prepared the building plans, architectural plans and a small site plan for onsite parking. The builder benefited from the opportunity to develop three condominium units without incurring major up-front costs or soft costs, as these were funded by the township. The Stout- Tucker House Restoration and Adaptive Re-Use project demonstrates how a public/ private partnership worked together to restore a historically important home in a manner that contributed three apartments to local housing choices, according to the press release. Freeholder Anna Little presented the award to Brightbill, Edward O'Neill of S.O.M.E. Architects, Red Bank, and Mercantante.