--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "John C. LiDestri" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-
> 12/1197440355201690.xml&coll=1
>
ANOTHER ASBURY DREAM DELAYED
Developer calls halt to condo complex
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
BY MARYANN SPOTO
Star-Ledger Staff
For 20 years, the steel skeleton of a partially constructed building
stood over Asbury Park's waterfront as a symbol of stalled
redevelopment and broken dreams.
When it was torn down nearly two years ago to make way for a luxury
condominium complex, the flurry of activity became a symbol of hope
for Asbury Park's future. Singer John Oates bought into the complex.
Even the project's name, the Esperanza, which means "hope" in Spanish,
seemed to signify a new day.
Yesterday, the developer of the oceanfront high-rise abruptly
announced he had stopped construction and sales temporarily because of
the cooling real estate market.
"We are convinced that the national mortgage crisis now impacting real
estate markets around the country represents a temporary setback, and
we remain fully committed to Asbury Park and its rebirth," said Dean
Geibel, president of Hoboken-based Metro Homes LLC.
Metro Homes' other projects, including a high-rise condo complex with
Donald Trump in Jersey City billed as one of the tallest residential
buildings in New Jersey, are not affected, Geibel said.
Though Geibel and Asbury Park officials remained upbeat about the
outcome, James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of
Policy and Planning at Rutgers University, said this will have an
impact on the city's redevelopment.
"It's certainly going to slow it down to a great extent," he said.
Hughes said Asbury Park is experiencing the same problems as other
urban areas around the country and those conditions could last two or
three years.
Geibel declined to discuss specific market conditions that forced him
to reach the decision to halt construction, but Councilman John
Loffredo said that in previous conversations with Geibel, the
developer said banks were leery about lending money because of the
softening market.
He said Geibel initially sought to scale back the design of the
224-unit luxury building, which boasted an upscale restaurant, valet
service, private cabanas and a pool. It was to have a modern
architectural design replicating the wind and ocean waves.
Loffredo said he told Geibel he would not accept a scaled-down version
and any significant changes in design would have to be approved by the
city's planning board.
Last summer, Geibel trotted out Oates, half of the pop duo Hall and
Oates, in a public relations event where the musician discussed his
purchase of a two-bedroom, two-bath condo for $675,000 as a third
home. At the time, Geibel said 57 units had been sold.
Now that construction is on hold, the downpayments that purchasers
gave Metro Homes will be held in escrow, Geibel said. It is unclear
how long the hiatus will last, but Geibel said yesterday he is in
negotiations to get construction started again. He would not elaborate.
Once a famed seaside resort that attracted tourists from all over the
East, Asbury Park fell on hard times in the 1960s and couldn't shake
its broken down, honky-tonk image. By the 1980s, the city made its
first attempt at oceanfront redevelopment, only to be plunged further
into economic despair when the developer went bankrupt. Construction
halted for nearly 15 years while the dispute was sorted out in
bankruptcy court.
On the oceanfront lot between Third and Fourth avenues stood the steel
structure that served as a daily reminder of the failed redevelopment.
With much fanfare, the rusting hulk was torn down in April 2006.
There was much hype around the construction of the Esperanza almost
from the minute of its inception. Initially, the developer wanted to
call it "The Rising," until rocker Bruce Springsteen, an Asbury Park
regular, balked at the name of his newly-released album and title song
written in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks being used for a
condominium complex.
So Metro Homes held a much-publicized contest -- and put up a $10,000
scholarship for the winner -- among city high school students to name
the building.
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