So its not just me that notices things are amiss... Like I said before... doing some reasearch in various media sources gives a different picture from the all is well view of some AP locals.
I'm surprised that the talk about the money/deficit/budget went nowhere. Well not really... guess everyone is too busy 'having fun' to worry about a bankrupt AP (Yes that was a 'dig' - folks down there better wake up) --- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "Jennifer" <jennifern...@...> wrote: > > Asbury Park revival project still far from finished > by MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger > Tuesday December 09, 2008, 6:28 PM > http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/asbury_park_revival_project_s > t.html > A year ago, construction ground to a halt on luxury oceanfront > condominiums in Asbury Park that had promised to usher in a revival > of a city devastated by race riots, political corruption and economic > woes. > > A harbinger of the national real estate disaster that was to come, > the Esperanza should have been near completion today, but instead the > same three stories stand bleakly against the backdrop of a beachfront > awaiting tourists. > > The poured-concrete foundation hasn't changed since Hoboken-based > Metro Homes gave the stop-work order a year ago Sunday, but the > company's president insists he is pressing on with plans for a scaled- > down version of the high rise. He said work could resume by next > summer. > > "Our project is far from dead," said Metro Homes president Dean > Geibel. "We're basically creating a whole new building." > > Held hostage for two decades by ups and downs of the housing market, > the city is trying to buck current economic trends and continues to > rebuild around the building that takes its name from the Spanish word > for "hope." > > "Surprisingly enough, we're still bringing business into Asbury > Park," said Tom Gilmour, director of commerce for the city. "A lot of > people who wanted to come here got turned off by the high prices and > are back." > > Gilmour said Asbury Park has had 17 new storefronts, including seven > new restaurants, open on the boardwalk since May. Another seven > businesses opened downtown during that same time. > > A year ago, retail space in the city's downtown was slightly less > than half full. Now it's about 60 percent occupied, he estimated. > Last year, the boardwalk had a nearly 70 percent vacancy rate. Now > it's maxed out, Gilmour said. > > Sales of condominiums at two new complexes bookending the oceanfront > redevelopment zone had stalled after the real estate bubble drove > prices skyward. Interest in those developments, Wesley Grove and > North Beach, has resumed now that prices have dipped, Gilmour said. > > Reacting to the slowdown in the real estate market, City Manager > Terence Reidy said, many developers have proposed converting space > once designated residential into office. Others are considering > creating interim parking lots until the market rebounds, he said. > > "The good thing is no one's come to me and said, 'I'm pulling out,'" > Reidy said. > > That includes Metro Homes. Only three of the 16 stories had been > built before the developer suspended work on the $100 million > project. The city last year threatened to go to court to compel the > developer to keep working but has since softened its stance. > > Talks with Madison Marquette, the developer of the boardwalk and the > new owner of the Wesley Grove condos, about entering a joint venture > to resurrect the Esperanza proved fruitless, Geibel said. > > With a new partner -- who Geibel declined to name -- Metro Homes is > redesigning the project to shave expenses. Instead of having two > towers separated by an outdoor pool, the building will have one L- > shaped tower wrapped partially around the outdoor pool to the north > and west. It will get a new name -- something that suggests the > ocean, Geibel said. > > The new design will mean many of the 224 units have an oceanfront > view, he said. But some of the amenities, such as an upscale > restaurant, will be left on the drawing room floor, he said. > > Metro Homes had contracts for 70 of the units, which sold for between > $400,000 and $2.3 million, before construction stopped. Geibel said > all the deposits have been returned but some original buyers, > including singer John Oates, are interested in buying into the new > building. > > John Lidestri, an importer from Ringwood, used his returned deposit > to help buy a restored seven-bedroom historic home within walking > distance from the beach in Asbury Park. In retrospect, this was a > better deal, because he got a bigger place for the nearly $1 million > he was prepared to pay for the condo. And his taxes will be cheaper, > said the 39-year-old father of two. > > "Obviously it would be great for the community to see it come to > fruition," he said. "It would definitely enhance the image of the > waterfront rather than to have a stalled construction site there." > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:asburypark-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:asburypark-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: asburypark-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
