"What PILOTs provide developers and lenders is certainty as to what the payments will be for over a long period of time, in this case, 30 years." Holmdel tax assessor Erick Aguiar said that while explaining the tax arrangement behind Azura at Holmdel, as reported by the Two River Times in January. His words describe the developer and the lender. A Holmdel homeowner over 55 thinking about the 104 condominiums planned inside the former Vonage headquarters at 23 Main Street needs a different kind of certainty. They need to know what owning one of those homes will cost each year. That number depends on a financial agreement whose owner-level terms we could not review in the township records we checked, and the developer has not published prices.

That changes the downsizing math more than anything on the floor plans.

The annual bill runs through a financial agreement

On December 22, 2025, the Holmdel Township Committee voted 4–0 to adopt Ordinance 2025-30. It approved a long-term tax exemption and financial agreements with four separate entities for the site: Senior Condo Urban Renewal, LLC; Senior Cottage Urban Renewal, LLC; Senior Care Urban Renewal, LLC; and Senior Multi Urban Renewal, LLC. Each part of the project has its own agreement, so the condos, the cottages, the care facility and the rentals are each set up under their own terms.

Under that structure, the developer makes annual payments to the township in place of conventional property taxes. New Jersey's general framework is laid out in an overview of annual service charges prepared by the bond law firm McManimon, Scotland & Baumann and hosted by the NJ League of Municipalities. It explains that when a project includes for-sale residential units, the condo owners of those units may be the ones who pay the annual service charge. The same overview lists several features of these agreements that affect individual owners:

• The charge is at least 10% of annual gross revenue or 2% of total project costs, and it increases in stages as a percentage of the taxes that would otherwise apply.
• The municipality receives 95% of the charge and the county receives 5%.
• Payments are collected on the same dates and enforced the same way as conventional taxes.
• An agreement may limit the exemption for individual condo buyers to owner-occupied units.
• The ability to appeal is limited.

These are the general rules under New Jersey law. We were not able to review the formula, phase-in schedule or owner-occupancy terms in Azura's executed agreements. Two things still follow from the general rules. The yearly charge on an Azura condo is set by an agreement, while a neighboring house's tax bill is set by Holmdel's tax rate. And the staged increases mean the first year's figure may not be the figure in year ten. For a downsizer on a fixed retirement budget, that schedule matters as much as the purchase price.

Four phases, and one has every approval it needs

Final approval so far covers only the first phase. A township planner's review letter dated June 15, 2026 lays out where things stood.

Phase II, which the developer calls Azura Reserve, was listed for a public hearing at a Planning Board special meeting on June 16, 2026. We could not find a recorded final approval in the township minutes we were able to read through September. The developer's Azura Holmdel site calls Phase II "age-restricted cottages" and describes Phase III as a 90-unit sub-acute rehabilitation facility. The site's disclosures page says Phases II through IV depend on separate timelines, financing and approvals.

For someone deciding now, Phase I is the part with full approvals. The townhouses, which are the product closest to the detached home many Holmdel downsizers already own, are still in the approval process.

Why a strong market still came with a tax break

At the PILOT hearings, residents asked why a town with Holmdel's real estate demand would grant a tax exemption at all. The Two River Times reported that question, along with concerns that PILOT revenue mostly goes to the municipality and bypasses the school district.

The township's answer was about cost. Aguiar said the exemption was needed to make the estimated $195 million project financially feasible. He noted that the developer must provide about 42 affordable units to meet the state's fair share housing mandate, plus a 7,000-square-foot community center and five acres dedicated to the township. The planner's letter says that five-acre lot is set aside for new emergency services facilities.

The revenue comparison explains why the township accepted the deal. The paper reported that the vacant property pays about $371,000 a year in taxes. Once the project is complete, the PILOT is projected to bring in about $2.3 million a year, with the township keeping nearly $2.1 million after county payments and fees, or about $94 million over the 30-year term. For buyers, the result is that the affordable units and public amenities are paid for partly through the same structure that sets their annual charge. That charge is a negotiated contract term, not a by-product of Holmdel's tax rate.

The calendar a Holmdel seller has to work with

According to the developer's site, active marketing starts in late 2026 and first Phase I deliveries are targeted for Q3 2027. The site is currently taking nonbinding reservations, which can be canceled at any time, with deposits refunded on request. Phase I homes are described as single-level residences across four interconnected buildings, from one bedroom to three bedrooms plus a den, at roughly 1,752 to 2,854 square feet, with ceilings of about ten feet in the principal rooms. NJ.com reported on April 30, 2026 that demolition and construction were scheduled to begin that spring. We did not find a later report confirming the start.

Holmdel has very few existing options in this category. The one established deed-restricted 55+ community we could verify in town is Village Grande at Holmdel, with 115 detached single-family homes and a requirement that one owner or resident be at least 55. Anyone who wants to stay in Holmdel and move into age-restricted housing has a short list, and Azura adds a new type of home to it.

Statewide figures show why timing matters. In August 2026, New Jersey single-family sellers received 102.5% of list price, with a $644,500 median and 33 days on market. Adult-community properties statewide received 98.9% of list, with a $375,000 median and 45 days on market. These are statewide numbers, not Holmdel's, and a new luxury building will not price like the statewide adult-community median. They do show that the home a downsizer sells and the home they buy can be in markets moving at different speeds. Selling a Holmdel house quickly is one task. Holding a reservation on a unit that won't be delivered until a target date in Q3 2027 is a separate one, and the gap between the two may need interim housing.

Mark Viggiani's background in plumbing, heating and contracting points to a few site questions that matter in a 1977 office conversion. The building was occupied by several corporations before Vonage left in 2020. The site also has an on-site wastewater treatment facility and an electric substation, and the East Branch of Willow Brook, a Category One waterway, runs along its western side. The Two River Times reported that the redeveloper has promised to bring the roughly 50-year-old wastewater system into compliance with DEP standards. Township counsel said the plant is regulated by the state, not the township. Before signing a binding contract, these are reasonable questions to ask:

1. What is the projected first-year annual service charge for the specific unit, and how does it step up over the term?
2. Does the financial agreement limit the exemption to owner-occupied units, and what happens to the charge if the unit is later rented or sold?
3. Who operates and pays for the wastewater plant over time, and how is that cost reflected in association fees?
4. What does the purchase contract say if the Q3 2027 delivery target moves?

A few direct questions

Is Azura at Holmdel approved? Phase I, the 104 condos inside the existing building, has final site plan approval. The overall site has preliminary approval for all four phases. Final approval for the 65 townhouses could not be confirmed in the records we reviewed.

Has pricing been released? No. The developer's disclosures page says pricing has not been published. Its homepage says active marketing begins in late 2026.

Does a reservation commit a buyer? According to the developer's site, current reservations are nonbinding, may be canceled at any time, and deposits are refunded on request.

How much of the community is affordable housing? The planner's review counts 21 affordable units in Phase I and 13 in Phase II. Township officials put the project-wide total at about 42 affordable units.

If you're thinking about trading a Holmdel house for something smaller in town, start with the value of the home you'd sell, since that's the half of the plan you can pin down today. Viggiani Property Group can prepare a free home valuation and help you match your sale timing to Azura's release schedule as it firms up.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.