By GARRETT STASSE and ELLEN CARROLL
The landmark Wonder Bar in Asbury Park has been saved from demolition at least for the near future.
The Ocean Avenue bar has been purchased by the citys beachfront redeveloper, Asbury Partners. But Larry Fishman, chief operating officer, said he hopes bar operators will keep it open.
He also said his plan is to keep the Baronet Theatre on Fourth Avenue open temporarily until other arrangements can be made.
Fishman also said he expects more than $5 million to be spent renovating the Fifth Avenue Pavilion on the boardwalk. The goal is to have it completed in 2008.
The City Council learned last week that Madison-Marquette, a retail developer, and Asbury Partners, have officially signed an agreement to join forces on the boardwalk plan.
At a presentation they described the beachfront as a year-round Shore destination. There would be restaurants, amusements, rides, a festival market, arts and entertainment and a significant retail sector.
San Francisco has such a festival market on its waterfront which contains produce stands mixed with coffee shops, restaurants, gift shops, galleries and the like. Its a major tourist attraction. If built here, the market would be in the Casino, along with unnamed other ventures.
Gary Mottola, Madison-Marquettes president, said the company is an equal partner with Asbury Partners in a company that could spend between $150 million and $200 million, depending on the final plans. That depends on how the final plans will look after City Council and the Planning Board have their say.
Asbury Partners owns the boardwalk, Convention Hall and the Casino. City Manager Terrence Reidy said the city had no part in the negotiations, which he described as between two private entities.
Coaster Photo
A restaurant is scheduled to open this summer at Asbury Parks Howard Johnson building.
People are going to see a vast improvement over last summer, Mottola said. It will still need work but it will be nothing like it was.
Mottola said Convention Hall is surprisingly good structurally but needs about $10 million in faade improvements and a restoration. The company has no set plans as yet for it or other buildings because more negotiations are needed to determine what the city will accept and how the market will perform.
Although most plans are still in the concept stage, the idea is to create an Asbury Park equivalent of Cape May, which is a year-round destination, he said. But the company is also talking to some people who create spectacular amusements like rides to fill some of the vacant space. He rejected the idea of installing carnival types.
There also would be no direct link to efforts to rehabilitate the Central Business District but he said there would be interest in both when people come to the boardwalk.
The Wonder Bar announcement thrilled co-owner Debbie DeLisa.
Well be able to continue to be part of the resurgence of the city. Lance (her partner) and I started with a dream and an abandoned building five years ago, but weve had a lot of support from people in the city, around the region and foreign visitors.
She added shed like to return the baby grand piano to its location up front to attract a new clientele.
As for Ho Jos, Fishman has the utmost confidence it will open by Memorial Day. The building is wide open for an upscale design, and Mottola said the architecture lends itself to something special. He especially likes the 12-foot-high windows.
Fishman said three prospective operators are being considered – one from North Jersey and two from the shore area.
Asked why it had been gutted, he said an inspection showed that nothing of the original banquettes or other furnishings could be saved. Fishman added that even the ventilation system had to go.
Will all this restore the buzz the city had a few years ago?
We wouldnt do it if we didnt think we could recreate that buzz, Mottola said. It has the waterfront, the great historic buildings and all it needs.
Fishman agreed, adding that the condominium construction is key.
We can rebuild the buzz, he said.
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