The original Surf Avenue House, which burned on Friday: (courtesy of Kathy Arlt )
Below is a rendering of the #27 Surf Avenue condominiums as they were supposed to look when finished.
Link to PH Propeties: developers of 27 Surf Avenue
Rendering. #27 Surf Avenue Condos
Thanks to Kathy Arlt for locating this postcard for us.
Don’t the people that stayed at the hotel have cars?? As well as the people who would have lived in these condos? I listen to both sides and I agree, but overpopulation is a problem everywhere. Especially the shore. My grandparents built a house in the late 40’s on Staten Island. They were the first on their block, now fuggetaboutit!!! What are some alternatives? High speed rail for out of towners, parking garages, people who don’t mind walking a few blocks??? Just sayin, peace~
JamieOG I’m afraid that as long as Ocean Grove offers FREE 24/7/365 parking to any and all for as long as they wish… there will be a parking problem here. You could stop all condos, build a garage with a capacity to park 100s of cars and there would still be a parking problem. Why pay while unrestricted free street parking is there for the taking (or the parking).
I shouldn’t have to preface (as suffix) my comments by saying this but, yes, the real and only tragedy here is that too many people have lost their homes and were put in harm’s way by this fire.
But since parking has been raised as a sore spot…
Re: the parking argument. One could argue that this is a transit village. We have a major train station in walking distance and an NYC bus line that comes through town during rush hours. Many stores and restaurants are in walking distance. All of those are major reasons why my family moved here.
But while folks in urban areas/cities live with one or no vehicles, that is not how most of the folks here in OG choose to live. Seems that every adult needs a vehicle. As such, parking certainly needs to be a concern. In a town where you can’t be assured of a parking spot less than a block to your home, is it out of hand to reject high density projects and/or require that they have adequate parking? I take the train to work. My four member family owns one vehicle. We use it primarily to go shopping for groceries. Yet everytime I leave my house in my car I have to worry if I can park close enough to safely bring my 2 toddlers home. (or my wife by herself, on the weekdays when I am not home) If that’s already the case do I need a condo with 2-3 vehicle-owning adults next to me?
I’d pay a municipal fee of a few hundred bucks a year if I could be assured the same spot every day. (anybody else willing to raise their hands for this?) This isn’t about free parking. This is about being able to park within a reasonable distance to my house. Again, I own one car and use public transportation for work every day. I’m not adding to the problem.
And nobody is forcing anybody to move to Ocean Grove. We don’t have parking garages, we don’t have driveways or garages, we don’t allow curb cuts. Whether you like it or not, that’s public knowledge. If you want to live or vacation someplace and have a bunch of cars, don’t choose Ocean Grove.
And don’t build stuff that’s going to make the problem worse. Or, if you are, don’t get angry when people like me complain. I lived in Brooklyn with a car. I was OK with parking several blocks away from my house. I moved here knowing the density but also thought that it wouldn’t be out of hand to expect that I could park my single vehicle in front of or near my house in a town well outside of the five boroughs. I moved to an historic district because I thought the standards would be upheld. And I’m not talking about paint colors – I’m talking about land use. I’m all for turning old, run-down hotels into active successful hotels. Turning them into condos? Nope. Rather see single family homes. And seriously, in this market, who is going to sell 9-10 high-cost condos?
That said, this fire was a horrible tragedy and I feel for all of the property owners. Insurance, schmurance – can’t replace the memories held in a home.
Lots of self interest here, none about an individual’s rights to legally develop private property vs. the rights of anybody to legally park on public streets. Real conflicting interests. Will be interesting to see who comes out ahead.
Look at the photo. It is the building that just burned down and the first thing out of your mouth is where are they going to park! Talk about a one track mind.
I do care that people lost EVERYTHING and for you to suggest otherwise is completely unwarranted! I was not commenting on the recent tragedy but on THIS particular posting of yet another large condo conversion in the north end.
I know, Waterseller. I guess it did look as if I was replying to you, because they post in order, but I understood your comment.
Nancy, there is a group in OG that care only about their parking and couldn’t care less about homes lost in the fire. As long as condos are not built, they are happy. Look at the first 2 responses on this post.
Lots of single family homes affected as well. The fire should be the focus here.
Well, ogrover, looks like you will have plenty parking spaces over there now.
NO CONDO”S Should be 3 homes with parking.
Looks nice I suppose, but where were residents supposed to park?