Politics & Government
Island Beach State Park Governor's House: Rent Or Sell?
Berkeley Township Council passes resolution calling for the sale or rental of the home that sits just 200 feet from the beach.
ISLAND BEACH STATE PARK, NJ - Berkeley Township officials think the Governor's mansion at the state park here should be rented or sold, to cut down on maintenance expenses and possibly bring in ratables for the state.
"The beach house is not often inhabited and costs money to maintain," according to a resolution the council approved earlier this summer.
The resolution calls for the sale of the Cape Cod style house, which was part of the original Phipps Estate when the state purchased the 2,694 acre property back in 1953 for the price of 2.7 million dollars. Much of the property is located in Berkeley Township.
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Henry Phipps had plans to turn Island Beach into an exclusive summer resort. But the stock market crash of put an end to that. Phipps died in 1930.
"The Township Council believes that a sale or lease of the state owned beach house, would be a better use of the property than the current use," the Berkeley resolution states.
Find out what's happening in Berkeleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The house was national news back in 2017, when then Gov. Chris Christie angered many after he spent several days at the house with his family when the state parks were closed to the public due to a budget shutdown.
Christie's response to those who criticized him for using the house while other state parks were closed?
"Run for governor and you can have a residence there," he said last year.
The governor's estate was one of three homes built by Phipps back in the 1920. There's also a guest house for the estate and another building on the bay side that was used for the park superintendent.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney told nj.com that selling the estate was not possible because it was purchased through an estate or foundation.
Sweeney also doesn't see how much the state -- or town -- would benefit from the sale. Berkeley would see about $20,000 in taxes and the hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale wouldn't affect the $37.4 billion state budget, he said.
"It's not enough," said Sweeney, D-Gloucester.
Do you think the house should be rented or sold? Tell us in the comments section below.
Photo: Patricia A. Miller
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