What's taking so long? Neptune waits on plans to replace vacant motel, Headliner nightclub

NEPTUNE - The former Neptune Motor Lodge on Route 35 has sat empty, broken and decaying for almost three years following a storm that tore off sections of its roof. So what ever happened to the plan to replace it and the adjoining Headliner nightclub and Sunsets Riverfront Bar and Restaurant with a hotel, restaurant and apartment complex?

It's still in the works, but don't expect to see shovels in the ground anytime soon.

In March 2021, a powerful storm tore off parts of the roof of the Neptune Motor Lodge. The damage was caused by straight line winds between 60 and 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

Soaked insulation, wood, tar paper and other pieces of the motel were stripped from the building and spread across the highway and surrounding residential properties as a result of the storm. That debris was cleaned up, but nearly three years later, neighbors are still staring at the vacant building.

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The motel is in a redevelopment zone, and the owner, the Beena Halari Family Trust, has had the option of repairing and reopening the property as a motel or demolishing it.

Last summer, along with the owners of the surrounding properties, they announced big plans to redevelop the area. The four properties included the abandoned Neptune Motor Lodge, Sunsets Riverfront Bar and Restaurant, Headliner nightclub and an acre of land adjacent to the Route 35 bridge.

The proposal included a 100-room new hotel, a restaurant to replace the Headliner and high-end rental apartments, according to state Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, who has been involved in efforts to restore the closed hotel after neighbors complained.

Gopal could not be reached for comment about developments since then. Ironbound Property Group LLC owns the piece of property directly adjacent to Route 35, Tripp Brooks, a partner with Ironbound and on the joint venture who has spoken on the project previously, also could not be reached for comment.

Neptune's business administrator Gina LaPlaca said the next step in the redevelopment process is for the joint-venture group to give the township their pre-submission form, requesting to be designated redevelopers of the site and pay an application fee.

The township's redevelopment attorney sent that form to the owners on Jan. 18.

"My understanding is that the group is pretty highly motivated to move the process forward, so hopefully we will get that back soon and then we can start kind of more official redevelopment negotiations," LaPlaca said.

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She added that township construction officials confirmed the motel owner has done work on the roof, which was delayed because of weather, and that work restarted the six-month clock on his construction permits. The motel ownership has been reluctant to put too much money into repairing a building they plan to demolish.

"We have encouraged (the owners in the joint venture group for the redevelopment) to be active and engaged in that process, because that is going to be the long-term solution for this issue," LaPlaca said.

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The long wait for a big redevelopment project is not unusual.

"You have active redevelopment projects in town right now that have taken years from when they first get initiated, so it is almost impossible to predict a timeline," LaPlaca said. "But the devil is always in the details, with the attorneys and certain requirement that the township is going to have to protect us and protect our residents."

She added that the township will "make sure whatever that they propose to do is an appropriate fit for that area."

"And makes sense financially, and that we are guaranteed that the project will actually go to completion. The last thing you want is for work to get stalled and for something to only be done halfway," LaPlaca said.

She said "the real focus of the process" is "to ensure this gets done the right way."

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Getting it done would please nearby resident Steve Roberts, who has been in contact with Neptune Township officials since 2022, when over two dozen residents met on the street outside the abandoned property with representatives from Gopal's office and reporters to highlight the problem.

"Nothing has happened with the property, except for trespassers who have sprayed graffiti, seek shelter and have caused more damage, and more debris that falls off the building during wind and rain storms," Roberts said.

"We are now on our third mayor since this hotel has been closed with no end in sight," he continued. "We have reached out to the township many times for updates on the property and our emails and phone calls have not been returned."

He said township officials "have become silent on this issue."

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"It remains an embarrassment for the township committee to let this problem go on for almost three years," Roberts said. "I guess it will take something unfortunate to happen to open their eyes and realize that abandoned commercial properties of this size do not belong in neighborhoods where residents, with young children, live and pay a lot to live here."

He added that neighboring Shark River Island residents have also asked the township to clarify the latest redevelopment plan that was talked about months ago.

"As far as the township was concerned, they would not go on record saying there was any plan in the works, which means that there is no movement or plan for this deplorable property in the near future," Roberts said. "It is a total mess with nobody from the township able to clearly clarify what the next step is. They have no answers.

"The fact that none of the (Township) Committee members live by the hotel only validates the lack of progress, since they do not have to drive or walk by this property every day, or see graffiti sprayed on the building. This problem is just being ignored and being kicked like a can down the street," Roberts said. "So now we are into January 2024. and as I said, there is no progress or information from our township."

Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Plans to replace Neptune motel, Headliner nightclub still in the works