Belmar Moves Forward On Commuter Ferry, Riverfront Project

BELMAR – The council has moved forward on a new development that could bring a giant facelift to Belmar.

The Belmar Council unanimously agreed to designate the project's developer, DOBCO, as the "conditional developer."

Under the plan, DOBC has 45 days to produce contracts with all other private owners within the designated area. A satisfactory redevelopment agreement must be provided and approved by Belmar within 180 days.

If the private property owners decide to void the contract with DOBCO, Belmar retains the
right to rescind the conditional redeveloper status. DOBCO would then place $125,000 in an interest bearing account.

The move comes a month after Mayor Mark Walsifer told The Asbury Park Press that concerns about parking and traffic weighed on him, and that he was backing off from fast-tracking the project. “I’m just trying to protect the borough,” Walsifer told the publication.

Councilwoman Pat Wann sought to reassure residents during a recent council meeting that the body is still not fast-tracking the project and "we're going to go slow."

"We're not going to let anything crazy happen," she said.

The new development would connect a Manhattan ferry service to the borough while also bringing big changes to the waterfront.

The plan includes a hotel with a ballroom and conference space as well as around 1,000 parking spaces and an amphitheater, according to a video of Belmar's Feb. 4 meeting. There also would be a new municipal building and recreation center, probably on 16th Avenue.

Developers said a key part of the project was that the municipal building was due for a "refresh," said Doug McCoach, who represents DOBCO of Wayne, the developer.

He said there is a need to turn the downtown into more of a year-round destination.

"If we're able to do this, it's just going to really cement Belmar and its downtown as a landmark destination and reinforce its identity as a seashore town," he said.

Walsifer first told The Asbury Park Press that DOBCO could be hired right away to do the project, and he's "all for it."

Former Mayor Matt Doherty, however, rejected it, telling Patch that the plan is "way out of character" for the borough.

Doherty said that, when he was mayor, he made redevelopment of the seaport area a priority. The town successfully had more private economic investment in that area in the seven years he was mayor, Doherty said, than it had the previous 30.

"I am very pro-redevelopment," he said. "That said, if I was mayor, the plan proposed by DOBCO would be dead on arrival."

"It is way out of character for Belmar and should not even be considered," he added. "The DOBCO plan reminds me of the oversized project that Gale/Mack Cali proposed some 15 years ago that went nowhere. We need to learn from the mistakes of the past and not repeat them."

Doherty said he does believe a high-speed ferry from Belmar to Manhattan "would be a great idea. I, for one, would certainly use it."

You can watch the whole presentation here: