What's delaying 10-story Boulevard project? Seaside Heights wants to know

Jean Mikle, Asbury Park Press
·3 min read

SEASIDE HEIGHTS -- Nearly two years since a rusting steel skeleton on the Boulevard was demolished, construction has yet to start on a planned 10-story building that borough officials believe is key to the area's redevelopment.

Seaside Heights Mayor Anthony Vaz said the Borough Council agreed April 5 to notify the developer, SSH Boulevard LLC, that they must give an update about a timeline for construction within the next 30 days. The property is located between Hamilton and Webster avenues.

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Demolition of the steel structure on the Boulevard in Seaside Heights, between Hamilton and Webster Avenues, gets underway Monday morning, August 16, 2021. The steel structure has been an eyesore for more than a decade. It's slated to be replaced by 79 residential units, a restaurant and retail stores on the bottom floors.
Demolition of the steel structure on the Boulevard in Seaside Heights, between Hamilton and Webster Avenues, gets underway Monday morning, August 16, 2021. The steel structure has been an eyesore for more than a decade. It's slated to be replaced by 79 residential units, a restaurant and retail stores on the bottom floors.

"We know there have been some problems with the state," Vaz said, referring to SSH Boulevard's ongoing efforts to obtain a Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA) permit, needed for large developments in the state's coastal zones.

"We know there have been other logistic problems. It was supposed to start last September, and now it's April 2023," Vaz added. "We are concerned. We want to see movement. We are concerned about it. We want to make sure all the i's are dotted, the t's are crossed."

He noted that other projects in the area are moving forward faster than SSH Boulevard's project, which is expected to include 77 residential units, a restaurant and retail space.

George R. Gilmore, a consultant for the developer, said yesterday that he would reach out to the mayor to arrange a time when representatives from SSH Boulevard could attend a public meeting to discuss their timeline.

"I think CAFRA will be resolved this month," Gilmore said, adding that additional documentation requested by the state, including an ordinance adopted by the borough permitting a 10-story building on the property, has been submitted. "We have given them everything they wanted."

The building initially was slated to be eight stories high, but the greater height was necessary to accommodate parking for the project in an onsite garage that will take up two  stories, Gilmore has said. He said state rules for large developments in coastal zones require parking to be provided onsite.

Since the building will take up almost the entire property, the parking must go underneath the structure. Tentative plans calling for a registration and office area on the third floor and a fourth-floor restaurant. Developers have said the intent is to attract year-round residents to live in the building, which will have units that range from one to three bedrooms.

The Borough Council introduced an ordinance permitting a 10-story building on the former steel skeleton site earlier this year, and the measure also designated maximum heights of buildings in various redevelopment zones along the Boulevard. Maximum heights were limited to five stories on other redevelopment sites, but the SSH Boulevard site was permitted to go to 10 stories, two higher than the previous borough limit.

Vaz said he and council members are concerned since they have not heard any updates about the development.

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"We want to know what you are doing," the mayor said. "If there is a problem with the state, we want to know that."

In May 2021, the borough designated SSH Boulevard LLC as redeveloper of the Boulevard site, where a four-story rusted steel skeleton had stood for more than a decade. Council members expressed enthusiasm for the project, which officials hope will kickstart redevelopment on the Boulevard.

The rusted steel skeleton that had towered over the Boulevard for more than a decade was finally demolished in August 2021.

Pilings to support the 10-story building must be driven 100 feet deep, Gilmore has said.

Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 38 years. A finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in public service, she's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seaside Heights NJ development: borough wants 10-story project update