Expand the community
Luxury apartments alongside Ken Gardens, planned to fit the garden-apartment setting around the lot. This path would require subdivision and a variance.
Cliffwood · Aberdeen Township · New Jersey
410 Matawan Avenue
A ±5.16-acre development opportunity inside the Ken Gardens community.
LocateKeep scrolling · the map moves with you
1873
The same shore, a century and a half ago.
Matawan Township on F. W. Beers' map of Monmouth County, with Keyport, Matawan Creek and the New York & Long Branch Railroad drawn as “proposed.” It opened two years later.
New York Public Library · public domainThe opportunity
The land is the opportunity.
Approximately 5.16 acres in the Cliffwood section of Aberdeen Township, set inside the Ken Gardens garden-apartment community and reached by a 10-ft access easement.
For a developer, an investor or the neighboring community itself, the lot offers room to plan: an expansion in keeping with the garden apartments that surround it, or new residential construction on the acreage. Five existing residences and a garage/workshop stand on the site today, giving a buyer a foothold while a longer-term plan is studied.
Development potential is subject to the buyer's own due diligence and to municipal approvals. Read the buyer due-diligence notice.
±5.16Acres
5Existing residences
2Residential buildings
1Garage / workshop
The land
Approximately 5.16 acres within Ken Gardens.
The lot sits inside the surrounding garden-apartment community: open lawn and mature trees, with the existing buildings grouped near the drive.
Bordered by apartments on its edges, it raises a natural question for the right buyer: what this land, and the community around it, could become.
Any subdivision, expansion or new construction requires verification of permitted uses and all necessary municipal approvals. Buyers must complete their own due diligence.
The parcel
The land lines, as surveyed.
Block 219, Lot 13: 5.16 acres ± (224,820 sq ft ±) on the March 5, 2025 survey, reached from Matawan Avenue by a 10-ft-wide right-of-way through Ken Gardens.
- Lot area
- 5.16 acres ±224,820 sq ft ±
- Access
- 10-ft-wide right-of-way easement through Ken Gardens
- Coverage
- About 7.2% impervious today16,220 sq ft ±: dwelling, garage, one-story building, drive and parking
- Flood zones
- Part zones A and AE, balance zone XFEMA FIRM panel 340312 0036, effective June 20, 2018
- Surveyor
- Bruce R. Heuser, P.L.S.Richard K. Heuser, P.C., Matawan · March 5, 2025
Development opportunity
A buildable lot, waiting for the right plan.
The most natural buyer may be the community that surrounds it. Ken Gardens could acquire the lot and expand with luxury apartments in keeping with the garden apartments that already border it.
Build new homes
New residential construction on the acreage under the township's R-50 residential zoning, subject to subdivision approval.
Hold and improve
Keep the five existing residences in service and improve them while a longer-term plan is studied and approvals are pursued.
What a plan would involve
The path to approval
- Zoning. Aberdeen Township identifies the lot as R-50.
- Approvals. Any new lots require subdivision approval. A plan in keeping with the surrounding garden apartments would also require an application to the township board, including a variance.
- Utilities. The site is served by private well and septic today. Water and sewer service for any new use must be confirmed.
- Access and easements. The March 5, 2025 survey shows a 10-ft-wide right-of-way easement through Ken Gardens to Matawan Avenue, and the property is subject to existing easements.
- Flood zones and wetlands. Per the survey, parts of the lot lie in FEMA flood zones A and AE, and a marsh and gully run along the rear. The survey makes no wetlands determination.
Through time
On this shore, land has always been the opportunity.
From a colonial land grant to a 1920s resort sold out of a pirate-ship office, Cliffwood's story is one of land and what people planned for it.
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1684
A grant on the bay
Surveyor General Thomas Rudyard received a grant of 1,038 acres on Raritan Bay and Matawan Creek, the present site of Cliffwood and Cliffwood Beach.
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1857
Matawan Township
Matavan Township was incorporated on February 23, 1857. The name of the old Matavan settlement faded once the Cliffwood post office opened in 1885.
Matawan Township on F. W. Beers' 1873 Topographical Map of Monmouth County (detail). New York Public Library, public domain. -
1875
The railroad arrives
The New York and Long Branch Railroad opened its Matawan station on July 1, 1875, the first station built on the line. A small Cliffwood station at Hutchler's Crossing served the community from 1875 until 1932.
The 1875 Matawan station building, documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey. Library of Congress, public domain. -
1923
Sold as a resort
Developers Morrisey and Walker launched Cliffwood Beach as a resort of summer bungalows. Their sales office was built as a pirate ship, a nod to the legend of Captain Kidd's treasure, and a one-mile boardwalk followed in 1924.
“Pirate Ship” realty office, Cliffwood Beach, c. 1930–45. Postcard, Boston Public Library (CC BY 2.0). -
1955
The resort era ends
Cliffwood Beach drew summer crowds into the 1950s with its boardwalk, saltwater pool and the Cat 'n Fiddle. Hurricane Diane in 1955 destroyed what remained of the amusements.
Boardwalk and bathing beach, Cliffwood Beach, c. 1930–45. Postcard, Boston Public Library (CC BY 2.0). -
1977
Aberdeen Township
Matawan Township took the name Aberdeen Township, recalling the “New Aberdeen” of the Scottish settlers of the 1680s.
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2003
Building around the station
The area around Aberdeen–Matawan station was designated a Transit Village by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. In 2018, The Link at Aberdeen Station, a mixed-use development, opened beside it.
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Today
410 Matawan Avenue
About 5.16 acres inside Ken Gardens, with the next chapter still to be planned.
The parcel today, from directly above.
History drawn from Wikipedia's articles on Aberdeen Township, Cliffwood Beach and Aberdeen–Matawan station. Image credits are listed at the foot of the page.
On the land today
What stands on the site.
- 01
The four-unit building
A single building containing four residential units.
- 02
The single residence
A separate building offering one residence with a basement.
- 03
The garage & workshop
Additional space for storage, maintenance and on-site work.
The film
See it in motion.
The buildings, the grounds and the setting, filmed on the ground and from the air.
Play the film
Vertical cut
For phones · 1½ min
Gallery
The land, from every angle.
Location
Cliffwood, near the bay.
In the Cliffwood section of Aberdeen Township, Monmouth County, close to the Raritan Bay shore and the train to New York.
- Aberdeen–Matawan StationNJ Transit, North Jersey Coast Lineabout 1 mi
- Raritan Bay shoreCliffwood Beachabout 1 mi
- SchoolsMatawan-Aberdeen Regional School District
Distances are approximate straight-line measurements.
Property details
At a glance.
- Address
- 410 Matawan AvenueCliffwood, Aberdeen Township, NJ 07721
- County
- Monmouth
- Land
- 5.16 acres ± (224,820 sq ft ±)Per the March 5, 2025 survey · view the survey
- Zoning
- R-50, per Aberdeen TownshipBuyers to verify permitted uses
- Development
- Subject to subdivision, variance and township approvalsNot verified; buyer due diligence required
- Setting
- Inside the Ken Gardens apartment community
- Access
- 10-ft-wide right-of-way easementThrough Ken Gardens to Matawan Avenue, per the survey
- Flood zones
- Partly in FEMA zones A and AEBalance zone X, per the survey; buyers to verify
- Water & sewer
- Private well and septic
- Easements
- Subject to existing easements
- Existing buildings
- Five residencesOne four-unit building; one single residence with basement
- Outbuilding
- Garage / workshop
- Tax lot
- Block 219, Lot 13
- School district
- Matawan-Aberdeen Regional
- Price
- Upon request
- Listing brokerage
- SERHANT.Office 973-315-5959 · Jennifer M. Sabodish, Real Estate Broker
Site visits & inquiries
Walk the land.
SERHANT.Listing brokerage
Jennifer M. Sabodish
Real Estate Broker
- NJ REALTORS® Circle of Excellence Sales Award®, Platinum — 2024 and 2025
- Certified Real Estate Negotiator (CREN)
- Monmouth County specialist
