Asbury Park condos Make them beautiful with plenty of air and light. Keep the height low and don’t block anybody’s view. Provide parking. Blogfinger photo in A. Park. October, 2016.
By Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger.net editor. 2017 assessment with 2023 update.
About seven years ago Blogfinger began writing about the “A. Park-Ocean Grove connection.” We started by recognizing how these two unique communities could complement each other and we began posting photographs that illustrated the life style evolution that was occurring in both towns.
But now, a number of game-changers are emerging on both sides of the Casino divide:
a. The earliest observation was that lifestyles in Ocean Grove would be forever changed and enhanced in many ways by what is going on in A. Park. For Grovers who enjoy the quiet historic theme and the family atmosphere of their town, there is now an alternative lifestyle diversion just across the northern border.
We can walk or bike into the heart of the Cookman Avenue neighborhood in 10 minutes and be in a vibrant urban place with live music, great eateries, young hipsters, and a lively vibe that is now so noticeable that some people are focusing on the connection while looking to buy in the Grove, in large part because of that Asbury connection—you can have the best of both worlds, and OG will offer a lower priced housing market, but that can change.
b. Real estate is still percolating along in the Grove, but in A. Park there is volcanic growth. Condominiums that were purchased for $500,000 near the ocean three years ago are now worth nearly twice that.
BF link in 2013 when the VIVE condos were being built:
Soon the demand for houses in this AP/OG region will be reflected in prices in the Grove, especially at the North End. You can see why the Township/CMA/ WAVE developers are anxious to get the North End Redevelopment Plan implemented and why they are drooling over the potential profits while placing the best interests of those who reside in the Grove at the bottom of their priorities.
What they want is Asbury Park South, but what is needed at our North End is to turn Ocean Grove into what the Master Plan calls for: historic/single family residential zoning.
AP gives us all the urban style that we need, and we can’t afford to have more condos without parking.
Ocean Grove will see rising home values, especially if it keeps its promise as a family oriented town with ocean breezes, open spaces, and retention of the historic theme. We do not need more condominiums, more cars, more giant events and more parking spaces. More congestion will be harmful to the Grove.
Another headwind is the rental market with owners making big bucks with Airbnb. So owners will hang onto their homes for this reason, and the sale inventory will be perilously small. And the growing short term rental numbers are contributing to changing neighborhoods, worsening parking issues, and a declining Grovarian culture.
In the winter there is plenty of parking, but the residents need a plan for the 6 month season which is the best time of year here. Something must be done for the residents/owners
Keeping Ocean Grove distinct from Asbury Park will help both towns and cause the flow of residents and tourists to go both ways.
c. Because of the neglect of the OG master plan by Neptune township, there is a slow decline in the historic theme of the Grove. Contributing to that decline are selfish OG organizations with their own agendas such as the OGHOA, the Historical Society, and the Chamber—all of which fail to do enough for historic preservation. The HPC has Neptune-induced limitations which squeeze its abilities to save our history.
Now the Grove has become more desirable, not so much because of the “history thing,” but because of rapid changes in demographics and all that goes with that.
We are seeing more urban second homers who are educated, young and have money. They bring kids, energy and spirit into our environment, adding sophistication and enthusiasm to the mix. The OG Underground brings new young ambitious Grovers who want to live here and help change the town, but there is a growing shortage of low income housing in town.
The Camp Meeting Association continues to vigorously pursue its religious mission which is largely devoted to luring out-of-towners (religious tourists) into the Grove. They plan to offer more year-round programs, but they ignore the renter/owner/secular demographic while they aspire to creating a dominant “seaside religious community” here. This approach strives to take our town back in time to the last two centuries while ignoring those who seek “small town America” in this century.
The downtown in Ocean Grove is lacking in focus, but money and culture will eventually define that; think Lambertville, Brigantine, Clinton, West Cape May, and many other classy small towns in New Jersey.
If the demographics in OG continue to become more sophisticated, the flea market element will decline. We will be more Spring Lake and less Belmar. The town of Ocean Grove will become more and more popular—–a trend that we already see each year as the parking mess gets messier and the beach gets more crowded. And few will be able to afford our real estate with small cottages sometimes selling for over $500,000.
d. We do need to take notice of some worrisome trends in A. Park and the Grove. As the costs of housing go up, the real estate taxes rise. That could spill over to the Grove.
As OG experiences drunken revelers returning from A. Park to collect their free parked cars, we get noise pollution. The same goes for the loud outdoor concerts blaring rock and roll into our quiet neighborhoods. And the parking mess in the Grove is partly worsened by that AP parking spillover.
And as demographics continue to evolve on both sides, we see culture clashes developing in A. Park with that lively tourist city experiencing loud beer guzzling at certain nearby venues, while other more refined populations enjoy sushi and French food, art house films, fine boutiques, and interior design shops on and near Cookman.
And, of course, there are many poor neighborhoods and crime problems to the west which seem to be left out of the changes noted above.
Michael Badger, President of the CMA, stuck his neck far out recently when he thought that Grovers were being racist by seeking permit parking while neglecting Neptune beach goers. That idea has not had any traction so far. We’ll see if he will try to run with that ball.
So both towns are showing signs of being affected by the “Asbury/OG connection,” and Ocean Grove needs to see how the dynamic will affect their (so far) quaint historic small town.
Here is a 2018 link looking at A. Park:
And a link from 2019 with some historic perspective:
2019 historic perspective. on BF
PAMELA MYERS from Stephen Sondheim’s Company