Borough Council Opts To Rebuild Sandy-Wracked Risden's Bath House

Although Point Beach officials aren't happy with the expense, they recently voted to spend $524,335 to renovate the Superstorm Sandy-damaged, borough-owned former Risden's Bath House at the southern end of the boardwalk, according to the Ocean Star.

“In my mind, it’s a historical building and it’s a part of Point Pleasant Beach and I know that it is hard to swallow,”Mayor Stephen Reid at the Dec. 6 council meeting. “I think we are all committed to swallowing [the expense] and moving forward. I think that when you tear something like that down, that is when you lose.”

Council members voted unanimously to award a contract to Altec Building Systems Corp.

The bath house off Ocean Avenue would be rebuilt on the same footprint, Borough Administrator Christine Riehl said.

The restoration project includes expanding the kitchen, enlarging the showers to allow patrons room to change, restoring both the men’s and women’s bathrooms, as well as adding an accessible bathroom and roof repairs.

Before it was destroyed in Superstorm Sandy, the bath house had lockers and showers, and a Surf Taco. Four years later, the building is still boarded up.

The base bid calls for the repair of the bathhouse’s locker room area as well as the adjacent restaurant area.

The alternate bid includes an enlarged kitchen, new unisex accessible restrooms, storage space for the kitchen, new rollup door and locker area, which would cost an additional $35,000.

The borough could apply for a $160,000 FEMA reimbursement when the project is completed, Riehl said.

Ms. Riehl said the parking lot revenues from the bath house bring in $50,000 a year and the rent from Surf Taco was around $16,000 a year.

The borough purchased the building in 2008 from the Risden family for around $3 million.

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Image: Patch file photo