Asbury Park Council To Address Members-Only Beach Club Plan

The City Council announced this week that a workshop and regularly scheduled meeting for Wednesday, Feb. 13 will be held at the Asbury Park High School Auditorium. iStar is expected to present plans for its beach club, which will be located at 1500 Ocean Avenue.

“With iStar’s expected presentation of the beach club, we are anticipating an incredibly high turnout for participation at the February 13th meeting,” said Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn, “Moving it from City Hall to Asbury Park High School auditorium will give us space to accommodate our concerned residents.”

The people behind a new development in Asbury Park that will include a members-only beach club have responded to criticism for possibly restricting access to the beach.

Brian Cheripka, senior vice president of land development for iStar, issued the following statement regarding the company's presentation of the proposed beach club in front of Asbury Park's Technical Review Committee.

"We are pleased to have completed the initial step of the public review process and look forward to appearing before the City Council and the Planning Board. The proposed one-story beach club is an outstanding amenity that, along with our successful development projects such as The Asbury hotel and Asbury Lanes, will continue to expand the diverse recreational and social options available on Asbury Park's waterfront.

"Constructed entirely on private property, the club is thoughtfully designed and will maintain existing public beach access points. In fact, our proposal will add a new public walkway to the future boardwalk at 7th Avenue. As they always have, the City of Asbury Park beach will maintain full control of the public beach."

The iStar development will involve the construction of a one-story beach club within Asbury Park. The beach club project will be constructed entirely on private property and will maintain all existing public beach access points, according to an iStar statement.

The beach club will be a seasonal-membership establishment. "The beach club will have no impact on public access to the beach," the statement said.

The development will include a swimming pool, cabanas, locker facilities, a rooftop deck and other attractions.

A group called Save the North Beach of Asbury Park is urging people to attend Wednesday's council meeting, saying: "Be a part of the change you wish to see in your community."

"The city and developer must open access to the beach immediately," according to the group. "It's an issue of equity and pubic safety and needs to be done now, while discussions continue about the North End Project."

iStar photo