Brick Approves Long-Awaited Demolition Of Abandoned Property

BRICK, NJ — In a decision that has been literally years in the making, the Brick Township Council on Tuesday night approved the demolition of an abandoned home, the first of what may be a number of demolitions.

Brick Painting and Carpentry & Scott Builders of Point Pleasant was approved to demolish the home at 126 South Beverly Drive at a cost of $87,600, according to the resolution. That figure includes demolition of the house, its foundation, an inground pool, patios, sidewalks and a concrete slab on the property.

The amount is $32,000 less than the lowest initial bids on the project, which the Township Council rejected in April.

The South Beverly Drive home has been a thorn in the side of neighbors going back to 2009, when the owners abandoned it. The situation worsened in 2012, when Superstorm Sandy tore a hole in the roof and the ensuing moisture filled the home with mold.

In 2014, the township enacted its Abandoned Property ordinance, which spells out a process meant to address the issue of abandoned properties, a problem that has escalated in the wake of Sandy. The process entails notifications, inspections, hearings before the township's Property Management Board and negotiations.

In August 2015, the council authorized the receipt of bids for South Beverly Drive home, after months of delays and discussions. Daniel Newman, the township's construction official, described the home as laden with mold and falling apart to the point that it was less expensive to demolish the home than for it to be rehabilitiated.

But the bid process has been no faster. Initial bids for the demolition ranged from $119,500 to $152,400, far exceeding the $50,000 the township had budgeted for the project. Those bids were rejected by the council in April and the township applied to the state Department of Community Affairs for funding through the Unsafe Building Demolition Fund Program.

The loan program is designed to help municipalities fund the demolition costs for abandoned properties; the money spent is recouped by the town through a lien on the property, Mayor John Ducey said. The township was approved for a loan recently, he said. The DCA program includes a zero percent interest rate over a 10-year period, township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said in April.

Though the $87,600 figure is still more than the $50,000 the township originally budgeted, Ducey said Tuesday he believes the township should have no problem recouping the lien because the property is worth significantly more than the demolition cost.

When the township will recoup the cost is unclear, however; Gary Smith, attorney for Citigroup, which holds the mortgage on the property, told the council Tuesday night that foreclosure proceedings are still not completed.

"The bank does not own the property ... it still belongs to the homeowners," he said.

The DCA program includes a zero percent interest rate over a 10-year period, township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said in April.

A Google Maps view of the property at 126 South Beverly Drive, which sits along the Manasquan River. Image via Google Maps