SLEEPING LITTLE GIANTS

Many of us are guilty of not searching for the riches we seek close to home. For some reason we feel we must travel great distances to find them. In the early years of my life I traveled all over the country and down to the Islands trying to find those “riches.” It took a number of friends visiting me from other parts of the country to call to my attention to what others saw when visiting Red Bank and our area.  I would take them on a boat ride down the river and they would constantly say to me, “Danny, you don't know what you have here.”

It was with that in mind that I drove into Atlantic Highlands to meet with the owner a commercial building at 58 First Avenue that I had just listed as a commercial real estate agent for Murphy Preferred Homes.  I have lived in this area for over fifty years and had traveled Scenic Drive thousands of times to show off our area.  I had years ago coined that phrase that this area was an incredible place to “live work and play.'  

Atlantic Highlands falls brilliantly into this category. While having breakfast in the downtown I mentally listed what it had to offer.  First there is the waterfront on the bay which holds one of the largest marinas along the coast.  An extensive ferry service has been developing over the years. There are 18 rounds trips a day and each boat can hold up to 400 passengers. They are all full at peak hours.   Extending westward from the marina larger homes are being built and developments are already being planned by major developers in that direction.  Along the eastern shore of the town the land raises up to one of the highest points on the East Coast offering older traditional homes safe from the highest of tides.   

Bixby Building - First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands

The downtown historical district is one of the sleeping little giants as far as town go.  Red Bank was the first to really take off over the past seven years.  Atlantic Highlands is about 3 years behind Red Bank but will catch up in lighting speed over the next year. Major players like Charlie Hesse has located his offices in a beautiful building he built at the end of town.  The Hovnanian group is proposing condominiums along the water.  The Krikorian family has built an elegant hotel housing one of my favor restaurants the Cooper Canyon and will open soon.  The Peters family of Fromagerie is buying property in the town.  With names like the ones above as players you can bet that the rest of buildings in town will be escalate at a rate equal to or faster then they did in Red Bank over the past four years.   

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