The North End Redevelopment Zone is bordered by the boardwalk, Wesley Lake, Beach Ave, and Spray Avenue (foreground). West to east photo by Prosper Bellizia, Blogfinger staff. © This was first posted in 2015.
Northeast aspect of the Redevelopment zone. Prosper Bellizia ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
In the December 4, 2014 issue of the Coaster is a column called “Did You Know?” by reporter Bonnie Graham. The focus of the piece was to explain the functions of the Ocean Grove Home Owners Association. Ms. Graham interviewed HOA President Ann Horan and wasted no time in bringing up the controversial North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP).
In responding to Graham’s questions about the NERP, Horan made an unforced error and got the facts wrong,* resulting in a mild tempest at the subsequent Township Committee meeting on December 22, 2014. The NERP, after all, is a sensitive and critical subject in Ocean Grove.
Between Horan’s embarrassing factual mis-step in the Coaster and the reaction to it before the Neptune governing body, our interest in revisiting the story of the NERP was aroused. On top of that, Graham made a comment in the same article that “CMA COO JP Gradone had asserted last August, 2014, at the legislative breakfast meeting, that the North End redevelopment project, which had been on the back burner for some time, is now on the front burner.” Really ?
On January 23, 2015, Blogfinger asked Gradone about that quote, and he said, “We are currently in discussion with the Developer regarding the project.” So there is some life in the process after many years of mystery, and therefore it’s time for the public to pay attention once again. It should be noted that work cannot go ahead on the plan without a signed Redevelopment Agreement between the Township Committee negotiators (Committee-persons Jahn and Bishop) and the developers.
By way of background, in the year 2006, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, owners of the undeveloped 2.37 acre North End property, decided to bring the desolate area back to its previous life where it was a lively place with a hotel, a cinema, attractions and shopping. But one thing stood in the way—-zoning; it was zoned for 13 single family homes.
So the developers of the property, including the CMA and others involved, created an end-run and convinced the Township Planning Board to redefine the area as a zone “in need of redevelopment,” in accordance with the State Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. This meant that the property was so “blighted,” that local government had to take over its management. That new designation would allow a mixed use community to be built.
The design of a redevelopment was turned over to professional planners in Middletown to come up with a ” framework” for a mixed use community at the OG North End. Ultimately, a much more detailed plan would have to be done before any construction could begin. Two planners signed the NERP, but no engineers did.
The developers of the plan include the OGCMA and a partnership called WAVE (see below.)
In early 2008, the HPC, the CMA, and the OG Homeowners Association provided input which resulted in some changes in the NERP, and that was the last time that there were any changes made. The Planning Board approved the proposal, and in March, 2008, the Township Committee wrote the NERP into law. A lawsuit was filed in opposition, and that held things up for awhile, but in 2010, Neptune Township won the suit.
The Plan includes a hotel with 80 rooms, 85 residential units consisting mostly of condos, some single family homes, a “below grade” parking deck and about 20 surface parking spaces. Parking is supposed to comply with RSIS State standards. A 99 year renewable lease was part of the deal. The design was supposed to look Victorian.
You can read the official NERP document at the Clerk’s office in the Neptune Township Municipal Building. It is no longer available on the Township web site, but we have located a link (below) where you can read the entire planning report. **
For a variety of undisclosed reasons, the project has been dormant. Among the theories are that a bad economy has been inhibitory and/or there have been difficulties getting all the approvals.
In 2011 the HOA passed a resolution asking that the NERP be scaled back. They offered some constructive ideas. There is a link below reporting on their recommendations. Unfortunately, nothing came of it.
In 2012 there were objections raised by the soon-to-be-elected Committeewoman Marybeth Jahn regarding the size, scope and other details of the project. Ms. Jahn spoke aggressively of changing the NERP in a totally retro direction, and everybody cheered. It should also be noted that two other Committeemen were sympathetic to downsizing the project—-Eric Houghtaling and Randy Bishop.
Evidently buyers’ remorse was echoing through the town of Ocean Grove. But not a single change was adopted despite these outcries. Our October 2012 piece on this subject is linked below and is critically important reading material for every Ocean Grover.
In Sept. 2012, the following was reported in Blogfinger, covering the year-end Labor Day CMA meeting: “CMA Trustee Douglas E. Arpert responded to a questioner who asked the status of the North End development of condos, homes and a hotel. The CMA and a company called WAVE (Wesley Atlantic Village Enterprises run by attorney William Gannon) are co-developers. Arpert told Blogfinger they hope to conclude a redevelopment agreement with Neptune Township by the end of the year and to break ground in 2013.”
But, of course, one month later, all of that changed with Sandy, and the developers planned to go back to the drawing board to “reassess” the plan. That made sense, because environmental regulations after the superstorm were going to change how things must be done in environmentally sensitive areas. That was the last time we heard anything about NERP—until now (2015).
So, getting back to the aforementioned HOA President Ann Horan’s December, 2014 Coaster interview, she said that the current “North End Committee (and she listed the current members’ names) have expressed the HOA’s concerns regarding the project to the Neptune Township Committee, and their efforts helped to persuade the Committee to revise the redevelopment plan by reducing the number of proposed hotel rooms/condominium units, limiting the size of the structures in the site, providing for single family homes, and including an off street parking facility”
The problem with Horan’s December public statement in the Coaster is that she gave the false impression that the current North End Committee has been “active” in eliciting recent changes in the Redevelopment Plan. But, as noted, there have been no changes in NERP since 2008—-7 years ago.
Horan’s statement was of sufficient concern that it was brought up at the Dec. 22, 2014 Township Committee meeting where her remarks were discussed publicly, and Committeeman Randy Bishop found it necessary to make a public statement about it (see below.) The Township Committee’s minutes are posted at Neptunetownship.org
The following is taken from the Committee minutes of Dec. 22, 2014:
“Jack Breden, 94 1⁄2 Heck Avenue, read a recent Coaster article regarding the Ocean Grove Homeowners Association concerns regarding the North End Redevelopment Plan. The President of the Association, Ann Horan, is quoted that the Redevelopment Plan was changed based on recommendations from the Association. The article goes on to state that the Association got numerous elements of the Plan changed. Mr. Bishop stated changes were made to the Plan based on Association input before the Plan was adopted in 2008. There have been no changes made to the Plan since it was adopted in 2008.”
Because of the importance of the Redevelopment Plan to the town of Ocean Grove, “Horangate” has given us a heads-up to bring the plan’s story out of mothballs and into the public eye once again. Concerned citizens need the background to assess whatever may be coming our way re: NERP.
Regarding starting work on the project, Committeeman Eric Houghtaling told Blogfinger three weeks ago, “I know that there are many, many things that need to be worked out before anything can be done on the Redevelopment project.”
Township Clerk Rick Cuttrell said earlier this month that he thought that the project had gotten all necessary approvals, including NJDEP, but he wasn’t certain and would find out. We have not heard back yet on that inquiry.
So, now that the cat is out of the bag once again, and the history of the HOA’s involvement is cleared up, we will consider a series of more detailed Blogfinger articles about the North End Redevelopment and what the future will bring.
It’s time to pay attention again, because anything new in this story, even just a dorsal fin in the water, must be made public. Currently the NERP is no different in size, scope or specifics than it was in 2008 when there were many misgivings in town about local congestion, environmental impact, parking, and other quality of life issues. The project will affect the future of Ocean Grove in a major way.
RELEVENT LINKS AND NOTES BELOW:
1. North end plan from 2008**
Click to access Redevelopment%20Plan_03-06-08_NorthEnd.pdf
2. Dec 13, 2010: BF “basic fact guide” about NERP Link to 2010 BF review
3. May, 2011: HOA passes a resolution which results in no changes to the NERP HOA NERP resolution 2011 BF post link
4. October 2012: Very important article which all Grovers should read. Blogfinger was the last OG entity to plead for a reduction in the project. Link: BF Oct 12, 2012 North End article
BF quote from the Oct. 2012 article linked above (a very important piece written shortly before Sandy:) “If this is built, it will be the most massive construction project in Ocean Grove’s modern history. Its impact on all of us will be substantial, and that impact will begin at the opening gun, with the start of construction. ”
If you use the BF search engine on the top of our home page, just type in “North end redevelopment plan” for more details.
WANTED: Experienced researchers to help BF in assessing and investigating this very important subject in great detail looking back and forward. You won’t get the details unless you, the people, get it yourselves.
Reblogged this on Blogfinger and commented:
This 2015 article is very detailed about the history of the NERP. It fills in facts that are not presented in our current NERP 2028 piece.
In order for the North End project to proceed, final plans—engineer evaluated and signed for—must be prepared. Someone requested those final plans in 2013 and was told that they do not exist. We have no reason now to believe that those essential documents have been readied and are now available.
We are also looking into the DEP approvals—-if they exist. As Curmudgeon pointed out, engineering evaluation must be done in the evaluation of a “below grade” garage.
If anyone has some knowledge of these issues, please let us know so that the facts can be posted.—-Paul
We have to fight hard to not be like other towns. We have to be distinctly Ocean Grove. That is who we are. If we give in to developers, we will be another Spring Lake or Long Branch — dead, bland, and lost in history.
Kindness by-the-sea. Thank you, OG.
Thank you, Paul for the possible explanation of why that term was used.
Mary Lou and Doug: Bringing Mary’s Place into this discussion about the North End is appropriate because both projects involve casting aside local zoning rules in favor of State exceptions.
I suspect the use of the term “halfway house” may have been intentional to reflect the tortured use of the term “community shelter” which was implemented to grant Mary’s Place the zoning it wanted.
If any more comments show up about Mary’s Place, I will start a new post to continue that specific discussion and to leave this post to the NERP topic. —-Paul
Thank you Doug…I had a feeling that was the case. I know about Mary’s Place and I support the great things that they are doing there. Referring to it as a “Halfway House” is unfortunate and bizarre.
MaryLou,
I think they were talking about ‘Mary’s Place’, which isn’t a half-way house; it is a place for women with cancer to get some ‘away’ time from their illness, usually for just a few days at a time, no treatment, more of a spa.
It is currently located in a rented house on Broadway, has been for years. A very worthwhile cause run by very caring people. Calling it a ‘halfway house’ makes people think it is a drug abuse treatment center or something!
I can see why someone might not like the scale or the look, but ‘halfway house’ is just misleading.
To: Clarity and Accountability: what “new half-way house on Main St.”??
The many pressing issues in this town (e.g., parking, derelict houses, North End Rehabilitation Project, new half-way house on Main Ave., etc.) all stem from the fact that the governance of this town is opaque—-HOA, HPC, Township, Camp Meeting Association, Methodist Church. It is hard for the uninitiated to even get the OG v. Neptune Township dynamic down. This results in a complete lack of accountability in relation to the aforementioned groups, a dynamic in which the participants seem to foster and enjoy avoiding accountability.
It also creates fertile territory for individuals and families to game the system.
The HOA and HPC are well intentioned, but are, in fact, rather powerless as compared to the owners of the Ocean Grove real estate (CMA) or the government (Neptune). We need to hold the CMA and government representatives accountable, full stop.
Curmudgeon: I sent an email yesterday to Mr. Gadaleta, Township Admin. regarding the DEP approval. I hope to hear from him. The HOA is supposed to have an “active” North End committee, but I have seen no sign of life from them either. In the December Coaster article, the HOA had their chance to shine regarding the NERP, but instead we got nonsense from the President. The CMA tends to say as little as possible. I got one sentence from their spokesman.
And our elected officials need to step up and communicate to the public. They should be keeping the citizens of OG up-to-date regarding this issue if there is actually some movement going on with the North End process.
You suggest that all the parties involved get together in “one room for a status update where our questions can be answered.” That would be great if it were to happen. The situation does call for transparency.
—Paul
Blogfinger – I’m not surprised you didn’t hear back from the Township. I think it would be beneficial to have some sort of regular updates from the parties involved. And that means getting them all together in one room,including the developer,the Camp Meeting, and the Township for a status update where we could get our questions answered. Someone needs to take leadership for this, like the Homeowners Association. If not, someone else.
As for the underground garage, a boring of the property could be done any time to determine the depth to the water table. The findings are turned over to an engineer to establish season variations, etc. Then we would all know immediately that a garage is impractical. Why can’t this happen now?
Hotels for CMA programs: The old abandoned Warrington and Park View.
Parking: North End.
Breezes and open vistas: North End.
High end shops: North End.
Developer Profits: Formerly grand properties, now for sale, slightly inland.
Developer opportunities: Large buildings and lots, around town.
Who is in control? ….
The Methodist Church and residents.
Has any testing been done for depth of construction on that “parcel?” And can an “old-timer” tell us how deep and wide that “ancient” tunnel was from the bathhouse to the beach?
Curmudgeon. One thing that interests me is that the NERP, such as it is—i.e. a framework, is actually an ordinance. Therefore, if the project is to go ahead, it must conform to the provisions of the NERP ordinance, and that includes a “below grade” garage. If that garage is no longer possible due to environmental/engineering problems, then the entire NERP would have to be scuttled.
Perhaps we will hear from one of our elected officials regarding the DEP approvals for that garage. I asked the Twp. Clerk, but he never got back to me.—Paul
Amen, Wisher
I would not object to a small project with maybe a restaurant and a few shops on the ground floor, and a level or two above it for parking. The rest a park, and a few single family homes. And we need to fight any large project, and fight it hard.
The Camp Meeting can’t hide behind their benign claim that they need a hotel for people that want to attend their programs. This is all about money – for a religious organization that owns the land but arguably no longer shares the same values of a diverse community that now lives in Ocean Grove. And for their developers, most of whom we don’t know.
Our political leaders must step up and kill this thing, and the sooner the better.
Developers have one goal for us, and one goal only: shove as many private residences up against the ocean so we can get the best price for them. They get in, and then get out.
What do we get? We get double the traffic on Main Avneue,less breeze from the ocean, less light and air circulation, less parking, less small-town charm, and less prices for existing homes because OG will have so much traffic and so few parking spaces “only a nut would live there.”
Asbury Park has the best model: protect open spaces and socializing near the water. You cannot build anything but a low-lying structure on the ocean. Residential and higher buildings have to start on the third block.
There should be parking, a park and a few stores there. End of story. The developers have to go further inland, like they are required to do in Asbury.
Ever seen Long Branch? Ever try to drive into that new complex? They should re-name it Hotel California; you can check in, but you won’t check out.
Let’s learn from other town’s mistakes.
Park would be nice, but isn’t going to happen, the property is privately owned and Neptune does not have the $$$ to buy it, or probably the desire considering the tax revenue they could get, I’m hoping for single family houses built in the Greenville style with the flare and public access to the lake intact! Maybe a little addition to the North end parking lot, new wall for the lake and some nice landscaping as part of the deal!
Anything other than a nice park with many trees is just more of the same old at the Jersey Shore. We need to move on with more beachfront condos and such in this area, especially in a place like Ocean Grove. With a lot of it’s history crumbling (and especially across the way in AP), let’s at least try to add a little green to the town to balance out everything else that has been lost. Maybe even add a veterans/9/11 dedicated section.
Wow, I really enjoyed reading the information in regard to the North End. If completed, the traffic on Ocean Ave will be unbearable. I would love to see a park there, perhaps a nice miniature golf course for families such as Bradley Beach has.
Thank you Paul for all your research.
It’s ridiculous to think the new parking facility would have an underground level.
Well, according to FEMA they can NOT have underground parking and they need to start construction 13 feet from ground level due to storms.
If the people in OG do not ban together to stop this condo project, it will surely destroy the Grove’s integrity.
Can you imagine 4 buildings the size of the La Pierre sitting in that property along with 7 homes and a 100 room hotel all on 2 1/2 acres?
The best is that they want to use part of Wesley Lake for their project; isn’t that wonderful!
It is time to remove the Bishops and the Jahns from the Committee. They are grossly destroying the integrity of O.G.
What is really annoying is that #4 Boardwalk is part of the redevelopment, so the current reconstruction of that building was actually started without all the local,county, and state approvals….something stinks here.
Rich. I bet most Grovers would love a park over there, but I’m sure your tongue was deep in your cheek as you wrote this comment. This project will generate many millions of dollars for the developers.
Wow…..this subject came up again. Could the Grove use another park? The simple solution…………all you need is a bulldozer and a gardener.
It will never happen…Gannon again?…
At least the Boardwalk will get done. Maybe the Developer can be coaxed into completing the Auditorium Roof. Just saying.
All that on less than 2.5 acres? That’s crazy!
No worries mate!
After they drain and fill Wesley Lake, Wesley Avenue will take them right to the new parking facility. I can get you a seasonal space with your choice of floor (4 floors to choose from;) top floor has excellent view to a pair of seaside towns.
“A quick death, and a painless one” would be the best outcome of this exercise in greed and hubris. There is no room for adequate parking for a project this size. There is no access to the site. Give up already, and get it over with. We would all be grateful.
The Township Committee’s North End “overdevelopment” plan is so ambiguous, that it is inconsistent with common sense, and cannot be used by any professional to prepare formal site plans without the risk of losing their license.
Yes, a judge approved of “the area in need of redevelopment,” but going forward in the real world of construction, the Township Committee’s redevelopment plan is nonsense and the present plan will never be developed. The plan may contain an illegal subdivision and zoning ordinance.
Is it any wonder that after 7 years there are still no formal site plans, no developer’s agreement signed, no performance bonds filed with the clerk, no construction plans,and no DEP approval……there is nothing!
Any bank will tell you,”No plans, no money.”
The fact is, there is no North End Project. Apparently,the HOA never got the memo, and the Township Committee is exercising its right to remain silent.
However, if the present plan is developed,the required underground parking garage could be used as a salt water aquarium.
Blogfinger is correct, we must stay informed. It is prime property and will be developed one way or the other…..the question is, with what?
Any sort of large development in the North End faces the huge problem of access to the site. There is simply no direct route there. I’ve seen where it’s been referred to as the least accessible area in town.
Major transparency is critical.
Camp Meeting should reveal its original contract with WAVE.
Who else benefits as part of WAVE besides Gannon.
Township should ensure housing structures pay beach front tax rates.
Hotel should pay a tax rate similar if not more as other township hotels.
This is a money-making effort. CMA can not use its nonprofit status to avoid adequate taxation.
Never thought I get to the end of that……………….How much planning do you need to build a multi-level parking facility and be done with it? Good news, it won’t be affected by the weather (except the top level) and it WON’T BURN DOWN! Of course there will be parking fees during the season.
OGCMA may even have enough funds from it to pay for the next GA roof replacement and pier disaster and give that Stokes statue a proper cleaning.
So the only question now is what color ribbon do you want to get for the grand opening of the Ocean Park Facility? I’m not laughing!