New Mara by Vermella luxury apartments coming to Belmar, NJ

🏠 A massive 198-unit luxury development called Mara by Vermella is coming to Belmar.

🏠 It's located near the NJ Transit station and the waterfront.

🏠 Mara includes 20 affordable units, helping Belmar meet state mandates.

BELMAR — A developer has secured funding to build a huge $80 million luxury apartment complex with several units of affordable housing at the Jersey Shore.

Construction is expected to begin this spring on the Mara by Vermella development, with plans to finish before fall 2027. It will replace both the Riverview Pavilion and the old Belmar Motor Lodge.

The 198-unit development will sit on more than three acres of land, according to real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. That includes 20 units of affordable housing; the rest will be market rate. Renters will have access to over 250 parking spots.

The Mara property is located at 800 River Road within Belmar's Seaport Redevelopment Zone. The borough has also approved three other projects to build apartments and condos within the zone.

Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield announces that 198 units will be built at the Belmar Marina (Cushman & Wakefield)

Luxury living and transit-oriented development at the Jersey Shore

It'll also have nearly 5,500 square feet of space for amenities. That's slightly larger than the end zone of a regulation NFL football field.

Planned amenities include a fitness center, yoga studio, and lounge inside. Outside, there will be a pool, a barbecue space, and gathering areas.

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Chuck Kohaut, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, said that the location made the investment attractive. The property sits across the street from the Belmar NJ Transit Station, which operates on the New Jersey Coast Line. Train rides into Manhattan reach close to two hours each way.

The apartment complex will "introduce a new standard of luxury rental housing to Belmar,” Kohaut said.

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A street entrance planned for the Belmar Marina development (Russo Development)

And with the new luxurious standard, the development also brings Belmar 20 units closer to meeting its "fair share" of affordable housing. The small borough has a prospective need of 43 units by 2035, though the exact number is still being worked out in court. Under state law, towns that don't allow affordable housing open themselves up to lawsuits from developers.

NJ towns that need to build the most affordable housing

These 33 municipalities have the greatest number of affordable housing units that should be built, according to calculations by the Department of Community Affairs.

The "present need" refers to existing but deficient housing occupied by low- and moderate-income households. "Prospective need" refers to the housing that would have to be built in the next 10 years to accommodate the estimated growth of low- and moderate-income households. The state used a formula that considers a municipality's income and land capacity.

The current housing and population counts are from the 2020 Census.

Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5

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