The building, seen here in 2016, abuts the Red Bank train station. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A large Red Bank office building was closed to employees for the second consecutive day Wednesday over concerns about carbon monoxide.
Officials at Denholtz Associates, which is renovating the first floor of the building, located at 116-118 Chestnut Street, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
At issue, said Alex Shanley, a partner in Defined Logic, the building’s largest tenant, are “extremely high” carbon monoxide levels in the building.
The initial alarm, early Tuesday, was related to first-floor renovation work by the landlord, Shanley told redbankgreen by email. That led to a response by the the volunteer fire department and tenants being told they would not immediately be allowed inside.
On Wednesday morning, CO levels were again elevated, triggering another alarm and prompting a second day of shutdown. Denholtz “was not sure” if the same type of work had been repeated Tuesday night or if another issue was causing the elevated CO, Shanley said.
In response a redbankgreen request for information Wednesday, borough Business Administrator Ziad Shehady said the matter was under investigation.
Shanley said Defined Logic’s 50 or so employees have been working remotely through the shutdown. That’s had “a significant impact” on the business, he said, “because our services are centered around close-knit teams of digital experts developing innovative solutions for our clients.”
Shanley said he was still awaiting word on when the issue would be resolved, and has asked that a third-party inspector verify that it is safe before his firm returns.
The 30,000-square-foot building, on the western side of the Red Bank train station, is also home to Puma Capital and Zatsarina Fashion, a dressmaker’s shop.
The building is part of a multi-property redevelopment project that extends to Chestnut Street. Denholtz already has approvals for a 45-unit apartment building there, and as redbankgreen reported last week, recently acquired additional properties with plans to seek borough approval to expand the project’s footprint, adding 12 apartments and 6,000 square feet of retail space.
Company CEO Steve Denholtz also told redbankgreen that he plans to relocate his firm, now based in Matawan, to the first floor of 116 Chestnut as part of the redevelopment. The company acquired the site for $3.2 million in 2017, according to Monmouth County records.
