The iStar real estate company has announced plans for a multi-billion dollar redevelopment project along a 1.25-mile stretch of Asbury Park’s waterfront, which will include the development of the former Esperanza site into a mixed use hotel, condominiums and retail space.
Among the 20 individual iStar-financed projects in the plan are:
— The Asbury, a hotel designed by Stonehill and Taylor Architects, will be inspired by Asbury Park itself and will take the title of its first new hotel in 30 years. The Asbury is set to open early summer 2016 in a long-vacant former Salvation Army building after extensive adaptive-reuse work.
— Monroe, a 34-unit condominium designed by Miami architect Chad Oppenheim, projected opening summer 2016.
— Asbury Lanes, the music and bowling venue, will get a careful refresh from iStar, its new owner.
— 1101 Ocean, the former Esperanaza, will be a landmark mixed-use hotel/condomin-ium/retail project designed by New York’s Handel Architects and will be one of the tallest buildings along the Jersey Shore.
iStar, which goes back a decade in the city, is leading the revitalization, which involves more than 20 individual projects.
“We believe in Asbury Park’s potential as a one-of-a-kind place to live, work, visit, and invest,” said Jay Sugarman, iStar’s founder and CEO. “We’re excited to harness its character, beauty, and heritage to build a future full of promise. And we’re eager to share it with the world.”
Anda Andrei, former director of design with the Ian Schrager Company, is the creative lead for the entire redevelopment project. David Bowd, creator of the SALT hotels brand and a former executive at Andre Balazs Properties, will manage, program and oversee development of an iStar-backed hotel currently under construction.
Other partners include architects Gary Handel (The Dream, Four Seasons Miami); Paul Taylor (Ace, Nomad); and Chad Oppenheim (Ten Museum Park Miami); landscape designer Madison Cox (Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech, Spring Garden at the French National Museum at the Château de Blérancourt); and landscape architects Melillo and Bauer Associates.
“Asbury Park has a soul that makes it unique in America,” said Andrei, whose past projects include the Delano Miami, Royalton New York and The London EDITION. “There’s a love for that behind this project. We’re mining the incredible history and one-of-a-kind character to amplify what’s already here.” Bowd agreed. “Through the properties we’re developing, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture Asbury Park’s incredible sense of place,” he said.
The Company will also partner with Asbury Park businesses, cultural institutions, entrepreneurs, artists, and community groups to nurture the town’s character.
“The opportunity to design almost a mile of oceanfront land almost never comes along,” Sugarman stated, “and to have that opportunity in a place with as rich a history, as beautiful a setting, and with such iconic venues and architecture as Asbury Park, gives us a chance to do something really special. I know everyone on our team is committed to making that happen.”
