Can You Believe Asbury Park is Going to Replace the Hamptons?
In "60 Seconds With," ELLE Decor editor Charles Curkin chats with creatives and industry leaders, getting the scoop on their life and work in one minute or less. In this installment, he chats with Jay Sugarman is the chairman and CEO of real estate investment juggernaut, iStar, and the husband of ELLE Decor A-List interior designer Kelly Behun. Currently he is spearheading a massive overhaul of Asbury Park, New Jersey, a city on the Shore with a seedy past, but has the potential to become the Hamptons's chic rival to the West. Sugarman's one minute starts...now.
Are you a fan of Bruce Springsteen's debut 1972 album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.?
I had a roommate in college who played Bruce incessantly, so deep down I'm a fan.
How would you describe Asbury yourself?
If Montauk and South Beach had a baby. It's got beach, boardwalk, music, and now sophisticated design.
When you were having investor meetings regarding your billion-dollar development at Asbury Park, do you ever play it on low volume in the background to get them in the mood to invest?
No, I'm more an EDM fan.
The Asbury Ocean Club is a luxury resort with condos for sale and a hotel that is opening for July 4. Sell me on it.
It's the ultimate beach lifestyle and Anda Andrei has created a spectacular design. Everything you want is there and everything else is within walking distance.
Everything I want? I don't even want to tell you the first things that are popping into my mind. What's your elevator pitch for iStar's ongoing project in Asbury Park?
We've been trying to recreate the Asbury of the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s when it was one of the great cities of the East Coast.
How many buildings are we talking about?
We have 35 acres, a mile of oceanfront, and we're slowly putting the pieces together to show the future of Asbury. We've built five buildings so far and in the end there will be 20. The first project where we really tested the idea of people living in Asbury sold out in one day. Those units are now double the value now.
I'm starting to believe! When you were studying at Princeton, did you ever go to the Shore to party?
I went once and took a date when Asbury Park was still what it used to be. Let's just say it was not the right place to take a date.
For those not in the know, what has been Asbury's reputation prior to iStar showing up on the scene?
Most people I asked didn't know where it was or that it was an hour from New York. It was almost always driven by Bruce and an album written almost 50 years ago. The perception was almost a lack of a perception.
The Cape, the Vineyard, the Grey Lady. These are nicknames given to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket for each one's well-heeled summer crowd. What will be the new insider shorthand for Asbury?
The Playground.
Do you have a favorite spot on the Asbury boardwalk?
Silverball, which is a pinball museum.
Can Asbury Park ever divert the Hamptons crowd away from Long Island to New Jersey?
It already has. We have a bunch of people from East Hampton who have moved there. It's faster to get to and more fun.
You and your wife, the ED A-List interior designer Kelly Behun, built yourselves a big house on the beach in Southampton. Would you ever have it disassembled and moved to the Jersey Shore?
I am working on her.
Have you ever considered offering a discount on an apartment to Springsteen? Seems like it would be marketing gold.
If we could get him off his farm, he's always welcome.
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