A major design for the North End was completed in 2005, and the developer never got to bid on this public project. Internet photo.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
You may recall that the Neptune Township attorney, Gene Anthony, acknowledged at a recent Committee meeting that the North End project (NERP) cannot go ahead without a signed Revelopers Agreement, and that cannot occur without more information about the WAVE group.
Randy Bishop said that we can expect to find out who the principles in WAVE are and there would be a financial statement from them. However, that information was never forwarded to the Township.
Anthony also previously acknowledged that the only NERP which could be considered for signing is a redevelopers agreement for the 2008 plan.
Even though Bishop recently announced a changed WAVE plan, that new 2015 plan is not official and cannot be acted upon by the Township Committee, and Anthony acknowledged that fact.
Blogfinger also had recently pointed out that WAVE had been working on a North End Plan in 2005, and that plan assumed that zoning would be changed to allow condos, etc but the NERP, with the zoning changes, was not created or approved until 2008.
The 2005 WAVE plan indicated that the CMA and WAVE were ready, willing and able to do the plan, but if a private project was an option, then, according to the Redevelopment Law, the “zone in need of reevelopment” should not have been approved (2008) in the face of private developers who were able to do it themselves.
In a related issue, because the Committee never advertised “a request for proposals,” the many other potential developers, besides WAVE, interviewed by the OGCMA in 2005 would eventually be denied their right to bid on the proposed development of a public project.
This past month, Blogfinger uncovered an amazing North End plan that had been solicited and designed in 2005. A developer spent about one million dollars to come up with a detailed plan (unlike the sketchy NERP,) but WAVE was already chosen. The president of that corporation was furious that he was not treated fairly, and to this day, his anger against the CMA and Township officials is red hot.
But the existence of that 2005 plan, which was based on zoning changes at the North End proves that the CMA was expecting those zoning changes long before the “zone in need of redevelopment” was ever approved (2008) by the Township. It also proves that the 2008 assertion that the CMA had done “an exhaustive search” for a “developer” at a time after the official NERP was adopted in 2008, was not accurate.
The bottom line is that the North End Redevelopment project is stagnant—essentially dead in the water at this time, despite recent assertions by the CMA that the project is “on the front burner.”
Keep in mind that the NERP is a public project under the supervision of Neptune Township. If the CMA and WAVE are engaging in private maneuvers, at some point they have to make disclosures to the Township Committee.
Credit: Jack Bredin, researcher.
THE BEATLES:
Oh my: If the Committee “corrects all the mistakes” that were made, there will not be “any large scale development” at the North End.
Even if one were to put aside all the iffy manipulations, changed plans and lack of transparency no one has ever clearly stated just how access to this site will be obtained. Ocean Ave dead ends at the small parking area! The boardwalk isn’t a street or thoroughfare. All the east/west streets are one way. The logistics alone call into question any large scale development “in the most remote location in Ocean Grove”.
At the last Township Committee Meeting, Dr. Michael Brantley said, “I think we should review all the redevelopment zones to see what we really want to do.”
That would include the North End.
If the Committee takes Dr. Brantley’s good advice before a contract is signed with WAVE, the Committee still has a chance to correct all the mistakes that were made in preparing the North End Redevelopment Plan.
The North End redevelopment is where cronyism, nefariousness, and greed intersect. Anyone who touches this project at this point will have their reputation significantly tarnished. No reputable person or organization would want to get the stench of this project on themselves.
the whole “north end development” project feels like a scandal ready to erupt at any time..not unlike the history of Asbury Park
The artist did a wonderful rendition of a possible look for the north end of the Grove. I’m so glad that none of the residents drive automobiles.