Hearing Held On North End Boardwalk Project In Asbury Park

ASBURY PARK – The Asbury Park Planning Board once again reviewed iStar’s application to build a beach club on Ocean Avenue on Monday. The hearing was held on Monday at 7 p.m. at City Hall, and no decision was made.

The iStar development is supposed to involve the construction of a one-story beach club within Asbury Park.

The beach club project would be constructed entirely on private property and will maintain all existing public beach access points, according to an iStar statement.

The beach club would be a seasonal-membership establishment. "The beach club will have no impact on public access to the beach," a statement from the developer said.

The development would include a swimming pool, cabanas, locker facilities, a rooftop deck and other attractions.

Opponents say there are many environmental, engineering, social and other concerns about iStar’s proposal.

iStar's Landscape architect and planner were expected to be present at the meeting and the public was expected to have opportunity to ask questions.

"Over 400 people showed up at Council Chambers, and the community won!" Save Asbury's Waterfront said last fall.

Brian Cheripka, senior vice president, land and development at iStar, said this:

“Since submitting for City approval in December 2018, we have listened to the Planning Board’s suggestions and made numerous enhancements to our plan, including redesigning the landscaping along the public boardwalk, adding bike racks for public use on our private property, and improving the stormwater management system to ensure compliance with the current NJDEP standards. The project was always envisioned as part of the waterfront redevelopment plan in this exact location and remains a fully compliant use. The Board will ultimately decide how many additional meetings are needed, and when there will be a vote. Whenever the process concludes, we look forward to starting construction on the beach club and know it will be a world class amenity. After decades of failed redevelopment along the waterfront, we couldn’t be more proud of what our ongoing progress means for the economic stability and future of Asbury Park.”