[AsburyPark] Redevelopment News

[Lightgrw]

There was some big redevelopment news in the newspaper last week!

An entertainment district featuring a $40 million, 100,000 square foot complex; a four-story, 700-car parking garage; restaurants, bars and clubs including the following who have supposedly signed leases: Red Cheetah, a martini bar and dance club; Southside Johnny's Tavern (a pub associated with NJ musician Southside Johnny); King Biscuit Cafe (a home-style restaurant that will have a radio studio for the performances of the national radio show King Biscuit Flour Hour); Toad's Place (major music venue); Wet Willie's Daiquiri Bar; B.B. King's Blues Cafe; and Funny Bone Comedy Club. This goes along with the creation of 99 new apartments.

Unfortunately... this redevelopment plan is for Trenton.

While it may never see the light of day either - does anyone else wonder why it's taking so long for "names" to be tacked on to the boardwalk projects? And why isn't there a Southside Johnny Tavern in Asbury Park???? For about a decade his band's name was on a sign above the Stone Pony entrance (remember - the home of the Asbury Jukes?)

Oh well... I guess I can root for this to happen. It's nice to see at least one city in New Jersey trying to be a destination place. While I know firsthand that Trenton still has a stigma to its name (I just wasted a day with a booth at a supposedly statewide festival there a few weeks ago) I believe that if you put entertainment, restaurants and convenient parking ANYWHERE you can make it work. The Sovereign Bank Arena has proven that people will come to that area and I bet this will work too if the project actually happens.

Why should Asbury care? Because this is the kind of thing that could bring people to the city to spend money and it's something that would create jobs in the city.


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