The boundary line between OG and Asbury is between those two benches (see below). Blogfinger photo. 8/25/15 ©
This is where the new boardwalk will be 35 feet wide in front of the White Whale. 8/25/15. Blogfinger.net photos.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
August 25, 2015. GOOD NEWS posted today by J.P. Gradone, COO of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association:
“I am pleased to announce that FEMA and NJDEP have approved our expansion of the North End boardwalk from 20’ wide to 30’ wide, and the expansion of the area in front of the Homestead building from 20’ to 35’.
“As of last night, Neptune Township awarded the bid to Epic Management, Inc., which is the same company that installed the Middle Boardwalk last spring. We plan to begin construction in early Fall with completion before the holidays.”
BLOGFINGER COMMENTARY:
FINE PRINT:
- There are three North End boardwalk plans: the one sent to FEMA, the one described in the 2008 NERP, and the one voted on last night, but there are differences between the NERP and last night’s plan in terms of width, elevations and easements.
- The Mayor (Mary Beth Jahn) and the Township Engineer (Leanne Hoffman) did not attend last night’s Committee meeting to explain why the approved plan is different from the official Committee plan (i.e. the North End Redevelopment Plan of 2008.) They should be identical.
- No one at the meeting last night including Blogfinger has ever seen the actual boardwalk plan which was submitted to FEMA by the CMA. The engineer who designed the FEMA boardwalk plan, Peter Avakian, was not present. He is the same engineer who designed the 2008 NERP, and his company designed the plan which was voted on last night. He should have been at the meeting to answer technical questions. No one at the meeting showed diagrams of the plan to those in attendance or explained the technical details or handed out copies. FEMA requires that any plan which they approve is followed assiduously by the Redeveloper. By the way, there is no official Redeveloper yet and no Redevelopers Agreement yet. Boardwalk work can begin under the supervision of the Committee.
- At last night’s meeting, Committeeman Randy Bishop said “The new boardwalk will have a bulkhead that will protect it from future storms.” But he gave no details.
TECHNICAL POINTS:
- The old boardwalk which is 30 feet wide north of the Pavilion will be patched, not replaced.
- The section of the new “North End Boardwalk” that will be within the “Area in need of Redevelopment” and is now under the authority of the Township will begin at Sea View Avenue and go north to the Asbury Park boundary line which is about 45 feet north of the White Whale.
Boundary line between OG and AP. Look carefully at the arrow where it says OG. Blogfinger photo © 8/25/15. No one knows what the rest of the boardwalk (i.e. Asbury property) will look like as it extends to the Casino.
- Originally, the North End boardwalk was 60 feet wide in this section when the commercial area was built in 1910. The NERP calls for a 60 foot boardwalk, but we are going to get 30 feet now on the OG side, except as noted by Mr. Gradone.
- Easements will have to be revealed because there will be pipes under the boardwalk for electric, water, gas,etc to reach the White Whale or its replacement, and access easements on top must be revealed for future garbage pickup, deliveries, trucks, etc. Elevations are important to be disclosed because there are new 100 year federal flood recommendations after Sandy. The new boardwalk must align with all adjacent elements.
- Note that Wesley Lake goes under that north end boardwalk, so we suggest that the Wesley Lake Commission be part of these discussions.
SPECULATION: (Blogfinger is making some educated guesses:)
- No underground garage will be built. Instead they will build an above-ground garage–at least two stories high.
- These new boardwalk specs might not work when the final North End plans appear, and the $600,000 FEMA North End boardwalk might have to be torn up.
- Perhaps the single family homes will get lost in the condo shuffle.
- The CMA will be removed as a redeveloper, leaving WAVE as the only one. WAVE will hire a developer to do the actual construction. When the identities of all WAVE investors who own over 10% are revealed, some CMA trustees will be on the list.
Credit: Jack Bredin of Ocean Grove, researcher.
THE FLAMINGOS: We only have eyes on who?
“I don’t know if we’re in a garden or on a crowded avenue.”
So the CMA, using FEMA funds will rebuild this section of the boardwalk knowing that a commercial re-developer will tear parts up at some point? I thought the CMA wasn’t a co-developer anymore. Um … how can this be justified and does FEMA know this will happen? Something rotten in Denmark methinks.
Quotes from the Coaster 8/27/15: According to Gradone “Cheaper timber will be used (instead of Trex) in the wider commercial area.” With regard to using timber,he says, “Future development is planned for the North End so we don’t want to make a large investment there right now.”
This confirms that they have not finalized their North End redevelopment plans, so they might have to rip up that part of the boardwalk in the future, as we speculated in this BF post.
Gradone also told the Coaster that the new wider boardwalk “will have more of a boulevard feel.” After the narrow macadam walkway now present, anything wider will feel like a boulevard, at least until one looks around.
In addition, Gradone said that the boardwalk work will start at Surf Avenue and reach to the AP boundary line. He didn’t mention that part of the boardwalk project will run through the Zone in Need of Redevelopment.
Isn’t it interesting how much information is excluded from the official CMA announcement? Not even a diagram of the project has been revealed. Do they think that the public isn’t interested, or the public is too stupid to understand, or is it that knowledge is power, and who needs that?
—PG
Doug. It’s nice to know what you “prefer” but you seem to not appreciate that the owners of the “North End Area in Need of Redevelopment” have had a plan since 2008, supported as law by the Neptune Township governing body, and all involved do intend to turn the North End into a commercial zone with lots of condos, congestion, a hotel, an underground garage, and other features which we have discussed here in great detail.
We have pointed out that there are many irregularities in the procedures that have been followed by the Neptune Township Committee and by Ocean Grovers who have a financial interest in exploiting that area, and some of that may be illegal.
At Blogfinger we will continue to point out those procedural mistakes and hope that the project will collapse under the weight of improper land use measures. If that happens, then perhaps we will get a project that will be best for our town.
–Paul @Blogfinger
Oh My,
I agree with you, I would rather NOT see a bunch of condos there. I would prefer mostly single family housing, landscaped open space along the lake and along the boardwalk and maybe a small commercial element with parking, (maybe 1/2 a dozen rental units above that.)
That is what to aim for, but there is no way it will become a park (unless you have millions of green acres $$$), recreational area or a parking garage. It is a valuable spot, and the owners are entitled to make a profit on it, but we need to keep the greed level within reason and protect the current residents of the North End (who are already dealing with the heating plant, Warrington and Park View).
OhMy. The current “residence” count (mostly condos) according to the 2008 NERP is 165, but if WAVE gets its way, there will be condos on the beach in the White Whale (or whatever might replace that ugly building).
Also, it is possible that WAVE will look to dump the hotel and put more condos on the boardwalk. The hotel’s front door is currently supposed to open onto the boardwalk.
None of these possible changes, however, has been approved (yet?) by the Township Committee. There is currently a very nice boutique hotel being created in Asbury, not far from our North End.
Perhaps you should contact your friendly Home Groaners Assoc. and tell them to go on high alert in order to block any further condo creep. At least they can do that, although they really should be looking to junk the whole North End plan. There’s still time for them to be heroic. Meanwhile they said not a word at the latest Committee meeting when the North End boardwalk contractor was approved. Only Jack Bredin speaks truth to power at those meetings. —-Paul @Blogfinger
Who will buy these $$$ dollar condos? Families with children? Nope. Right or wrong the reputation of the Neptune school system is a deterrent for them. Empty nesters? Perhaps, not likely when there are cheaper options elsewhere. Only Methodists? Ha!
Most of the potential buyers are the same ones that buy in Asbury. The NYT Real Estate section has articles about that demographic and why they buy where they do. They are the very people that the CMA brings in Sunday speakers to rail against and condemn on a fairly regular basis.
By the by, the progressive voice in me says that because it is undeveloped oceanfront property it should not be turned into condo/commercial heaven like every other spot along the shore.
No way is that ocean front property going to become a parking garage when multi-million dollar homes or other money making facilities can be built there. A parking garage would take millions to build and even if it could hold 200 cars at $20 a day, it can’t return enough $$$ to pay for itself in the less than 60 days a year that it would be used!
Housing will be built there, we can guide what it will be and the scale, but that parcel is one of the few ocean front lots on this part of Jersey shore that is available. The Casino will probably be restored eventually, the heating plant probably won’t, I have heard that is is a nightmare of asbestos, coal tar and oil spills inside, probably just too expensive to tear down and clean up, so it sits.
Paulie D – I agree with you 100%. It would be a major accomplishment to see the two towns agree on a nice looking exit/entrance way. But it would enhance the area. Great suggestion.
Completion ” Early Fall! “, “before the Holidays! “, HAHAHA. They also said this last year!! They didn’t specify an actual year again, did they, so pardon my suspicion.Do they mean 2015?? 2016?? 20xx some time else?? We’re on OGCMA time here walkers and bike riders, so keep an eye out…….This is the last miserable place not reconstructed in our locale. 3 years later. Tick,tick,tick………….
When is someone going to harpoon the white whale and that ancient casino structure, put a boardwalk in and simple signs welcoming people to either Ocean Grove or Asbury Park, right next to the three-story ABOVE ground parking facility at the North End of Ocean Grove.
The Home Groaners Association was represented at that meeting but they did not question anything regarding the north end boardwalk project. Do they care?
Great work doctor on the North End project. Thank God you are shedding sunlight on all that is happening there
Norm
This would be a good time for Neptune and Asbury to unify the boardwalk up to the Casino. If the Boardwalk ends at the great divide between the two towns, the area will still look unkempt. Now is the time for both towns to create an appealing area that will benefit both towns.
While reading this, and the other other articles concerning the NERP, Lewis Black came to mind as the narrator. It could be hilarious if it weren’t so incredulous and truly sad.
There’s been no transparency in this project for years and now that things are about to be built it smells fishy. And that fish smell isn’t coming from the ocean, its coming from lined pockets.