Two votes this year changed who Holmdel's next homes are for. On August 18, the Planning Board approved the second phase of the senior community planned for the former Vonage headquarters at 23 Main Street. On September 8, the Township Committee voted to acquire the land behind the Kohl's shopping center on Route 35. That parcel had been zoned since 2019 for 170 homes, most of them market-rate, and will now hold 80 deed-restricted affordable units.
Put the two projects side by side and every residential unit in them is either age-restricted to 55 and older or deed-restricted affordable housing. For a family buyer under 55, new construction in Holmdel has close to dropped out of the picture. Long-time owners, meanwhile, have their first large new option for downsizing without leaving town.
The Pipeline, Phase by Phase
Most of the new supply comes from Azura at Holmdel, an 88-acre redevelopment of the former Vonage campus planned as four phases with 299 homes and units in total. The township's approval resolution counts 209 age-restricted residences plus a 90-bed care facility.
| Project | What gets built | Affordable units | Who it serves | Status as of late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azura Phase I | 104 for-sale condominiums in the reused headquarters building | 21 | 55 and older | Final site plan approved January 27, 2026 |
| Azura Phase II, "Azura Reserve" | 65 for-sale townhouses | 13 | 55 and older | Final site plan approved August 18, 2026 |
| Azura Phase III | 90-bed assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing | 6 | Care residents | Part of sitewide preliminary approval |
| Azura Phase IV | 40 rental apartments | 8 | 55 and older | Part of sitewide preliminary approval |
| Route 35 parcel behind Kohl's | 80 deed-restricted affordable units | 80 | Income-qualified households | Acquisition authorized September 8, 2026 |
The township adopted the Vonage Headquarters Redevelopment Plan on December 19, 2024. The Planning Board approved the subdivision, the sitewide preliminary site plan and the Phase I final site plan on January 27, 2026, and memorialized that resolution on March 3. The designated redeveloper is 23 Main Street Urban Renewal LLC, which the Two River Times reported in 2025 as an affiliate of Community Healthcare Associates.
Take out the affordable units and Azura still has 167 market-rate homes for sale or rent: 83 condos, 52 townhouses and 32 apartments. All of them are age-restricted. Nothing in either project is both open to every age and priced at market.
Where the 139 Market-Rate Homes Went
The parcel behind Kohl's is where the plan shifted. In 2019, Holmdel needed a replacement after the developer of its North Beers Street site said it could not build its inclusionary project. The township rezoned Block 59, Lots 6 and 7 on Route 35 for the owner's proposal: 139 market-rate units, 31 affordable units and 40,000 square feet of retail, up to 170 homes in total. Ordinance 2019-31 passed on December 10, 2019.
Nearly seven years later, the market-rate part of that plan is gone. The Two River Times reported that the Township Committee voted 3-2 on September 8 to acquire the parcel for up to $1.86 million, by negotiated purchase or eminent domain, and build 80 deed-restricted affordable units there. Mayor Rocco Impreveduto and committee members Brian Foster and Eric Vanderham voted yes. Committee members Greg Buontempo and Joe Romano voted no. According to the paper, all five agreed the township has to meet its affordable housing obligation and split over whether this site and this scale were right.
Township attorney Michael Collins explained the smaller count to the Two River Times. "We're well aware of the topography of the property and some of the environmental constraints, and I think that was one of the considerations by this committee trying to reduce the number of units being developed on it from approximately 170 to 80," he said.
The state obligation explains why both projects take the form they do. For the Fourth Round, which runs from 2026 through 2035, Holmdel must provide 106 affordable units. Officials told the Two River Times that Azura's 48 affordable units and the Route 35 parcel together will meet that number. Once a site exists mainly to satisfy that obligation, a 100 percent affordable project gets there with fewer total units than an inclusionary one would. The open-market homes that used to come bundled with those affordable units dropped out as a result.
What That Leaves a Buyer Under 55
If you are a move-up or relocating household comparing Holmdel with nearby towns, the town's future supply for you is its existing housing stock. No project we know of will add a meaningful number of unrestricted, market-rate homes to Holmdel over the next few years. That means you will be bidding against other buyers for resales.
County figures show what that kind of competition looks like. In the Monmouth County single-family market for September 2026, New Jersey Realtors reported:
- A median sale price of $811,500, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier
- A median of 31 days on market
- 1,280 homes in inventory, a 3.0-month supply
- Sellers receiving 100.9 percent of list price on average
Three months of supply is a tight market by any measure. These are countywide numbers, though, and NJ Realtors publishes town-level reports only to members. In Holmdel, where new construction will add no unrestricted market-rate homes, the resale market is the only way in for an under-55 buyer. Make your offer plans with that in mind. Expect your competition to come from other resale buyers, with no new construction in town pulling buyers away.
The Downsizer's Timing Gap
For Holmdel owners 55 and older, Azura adds a large new option that hasn't existed before. Before it, the in-town choices for someone leaving a single-family house were the established 55+ communities: The Village Grande at Holmdel, Cedar Village at Holmdel and Regency at Holmdel. Azura's Phase I adds 104 new condominiums in the old Vonage building, and Azura Reserve adds 65 townhouses on the same campus.
The timing is where a downsizer's planning gets harder. The Azura website says active marketing for Phase I begins in late 2026, a priority interest list is open now and first deliveries are targeted for Q3 2027. Those are the developer's targets, not completed milestones. An owner who signs for a new condo this winter could be waiting most of a year or more for delivery while still owning the house they plan to sell.
That gap leaves three practical questions:
- When should the house go on the market relative to an estimated delivery date that could move?
- Where would you live between closing on the house and moving into the condo, if those dates don't line up?
- How does buying in one of the established 55+ communities, which is a resale with a known closing date, compare with waiting for new construction?
Sellers who answer these before they sign tend to have the most control over their timing. Contract terms on new construction, deposits and delivery dates vary, so have an attorney review anything you are considering. This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
As Azura's phases are delivered, some downsizers will sell single-family houses elsewhere in Holmdel. Those listings would add to the resale supply that buyers under 55 depend on. The 2027 delivery target, if it holds, suggests when that might begin.
What Could Still Change
Two pieces of this pipeline remain unfinished. The township has not yet bought the Route 35 parcel. No closing, eminent domain filing or selected developer has been reported since the September vote. Holmdel has also added a new voice to land-use decisions. Ordinance 2026-20, adopted October 13, creates a Land Use Board Public Advocate. The township said in a release quoted by the Two River Times that the post will be filled by an attorney with municipal land-use experience, chosen through a request for proposals, to represent residents on major applications.
The third pending item at Bell Works is not housing. A Two River Times report said Somerset filed a 40-megawatt data center application for a building behind the main Bell Works building before the township adopted its August 11 data center ban, and the township attorney said the application may be reviewed under the earlier zoning. No decision has been reported.
Short Answers
Is any new construction in Holmdel open to buyers of any age?
Not in Holmdel's two active residential projects. All of Azura's residential phases are age-restricted to 55 and older, and the Route 35 parcel is planned as 80 deed-restricted affordable units.
When could Azura residents move in?
The developer is targeting first Phase I deliveries for Q3 2027, with marketing starting in late 2026.
Did Holmdel approve fewer homes overall?
On the Route 35 site, yes. Zoning that allowed up to 170 homes, 139 of them market-rate, is being replaced by a plan for 80 affordable units.
If you are deciding whether to sell a Holmdel house now or hold it until a new-construction delivery date gets closer, George Pavlushkin and The ELITE Group at RE/MAX Central can help you plan the sale around your timing and price the house against current resale competition. Schedule a Free Consultation and bring your target move date.
