To further highlight what I've said for years, outsiders are always
trying to move their problems to Asbury Park so they don't have to
deal with them.
Read below how this Washington DC firm trid to dump Kevin Brown's
Mission on us poor unsuspecting Asbury Parkers (imagine him here
instead of Mattision Park. Good Lord!!!):
Developer reneges on offer, building swap off
Brown says he will keep up fight for church in Bwy arts district
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH A local minister believed he was closer than ever to
building a church, but now finds he hasn't got a prayer.
Kevin Brown, Broadway, said he was given a list of 45 properties to
look at by Patience O'Connor of O'Connor & Co., Washington, D.C.,
who is the developing manager for the redevelopment zone in which
his property is located.
He was told to decide whether he wanted to exchange one of the 45
properties for the building he owns on Broadway, where he has been
trying to establish a place of worship for the past 10 years.
There were 35 properties located in Asbury Park, seven in Long
Branch and three in Keyport.
"I actually found one that I liked in Asbury Park," Brown said. "I
viewed about seven or eight of the suggested properties."
"The building I liked was a little smaller than what I own [on
Broadway] and it needed just as much work."
The building that Brown said could have been the possible future
site of his church, The Lighthouse Mission, is located on Bond
Avenue and was once a bank. It is located on a 3,000-square-foot lot
with 6,000 square feet of occupancy space.
"It is half of what I have on Broadway, but it was suitable," Brown
said.
The building that Brown owns is on a 5,000-square-foot lot with
11,000 to 12,000 square feet of occupancy space.
"The buildings I was viewing ranged in cost from $600,000 to $1.2
million," Brown said. "The building I liked was $850,000. Now
[O'Connor and the developers] are saying this is too much money."
Brown said that O'Connor was scheduled to meet with the developer to
discuss the swap of properties.
"I did not hear from them for two weeks," Brown said.
"I got a call [May 4] and was told that the deal was off and they
were going to have my property [on Broadway] appraised. That is not
credible."
Brown said this could be the beginning of eminent domain proceedings
for his property, but not the end of his fight to establish a
church.
Brown said he has been unsuccessful in establishing a church because
his building is located in the city's lower Broadway Arts and
Entertainment redevelopment zone, which does not permit church use.
"They say worship is not permitted in the theater district," Brown
said. "What is a church if not a venue for assembly?
"If you can assemble for theater, you should be able to assemble for
worship."
In early April, Brown said he was offered the deal by O'Connor.
"She suggested to me that it would be great if she could find a
place for me where I could be a minister rather than fighting to be
in a ministry," Brown said.
According to Brown, O'Connor offered him a swap for his property,
which would call for the designated developers of the zone to
purchase property where a religious organization is permitted in
exchange for purchasing Brown's building.
"She is not doing what she said she was going to do," Brown said in
an interview last week.
"So I guess I am staying where I am and I am going to continue to
fight [to establish a place of worship on Broadway in the
redevelopment zone]."
O'Connor could not be reached for comment by deadline, but confirmed
in an interview in early April that she was in discussions with
Brown.
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