Coming up short on "vision thing"
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/5/06
The Asbury Park City Council is holding the feet of beachfront
redeveloper Asbury Partners to the fire. For the sake of the city,
and for its own sake, Asbury Partners can't let its toes get any
closer to the flames.
The city, discouraged by the lack of progress on the rehabilitation
of Convention Hall, the Casino and the reconstruction of the five
boardwalk pavilions, has wisely insisted on negotiating a detailed
time frame for the start and completion of work on the boardwalk
buildings, along with penalties for failure to meet deadlines. On
Wednesday, Asbury Partners was given two weeks to draft an agreement
acceptable to the city.
Without such an agreement, Asbury Partners faces a default on the
renovation portion of the plan. Should that happen, it would further
retard the sale of the condominiums at the three major projects,
which have already been slowed by the uncertainty surrounding the
reconstruction of the boardwalk buildings. In a worst-case scenario,
it could turn back the clock several years on the beachfront
redevelopment.
It's disturbing that it has come to this. Not only has there been no
progress on the two anchors of the boardwalk Convention Hall and
the Casino but there has been no evidence of a coherent business
plan or marketing strategy for the retail-entertainment portion of
the redevelopment zone. Without a strong commercial component, the
success of the residential component is in jeopardy. One can't
succeed without the other.
Asbury Partners' "SoHo meets South Beach" concept has visceral
appeal. But that model seems destined to fail if Asbury Partners is
intent on turning the boardwalk area into a year-round destination.
South Beach has beach weather 12 months a year; Asbury Park is lucky
if it gets 12 decent weeks. SoHo and South Beach both have tens of
thousands of potential patrons, people living within walking or
subway distance of its shops, restaurants and nightclubs. Asbury
Park has fewer than 17,000 residents, is relatively inaccessible and
is largely devoid of pass-through traffic.
For the Asbury Park entertainment-retail component of the beachfront
to succeed as a year-round venue, it will require a different
formula one based on unique attractions that will draw from well
beyond the city and county's borders. The formula must be rooted in
music, food and entertainment attractions that can't be found
anywhere else nearby. It requires a vision that Asbury Partners has
yet to demonstrate it possesses.
Getting Asbury Partners to commit to a time frame for the
rehabilitation of boardwalk buildings is essential. But it isn't
enough. The city must insist that Asbury Partners develop a credible
business and marketing model.
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