Proposed Wedding Facility At Brick Marina Opposed In Mantoloking

BRICK, NJ — The developers of a proposed wedding venue at the base of the Mantoloking Bridge are hoping to create an elegant, iconic site that will become a landmark in Brick Township.

But they face some potentially stiff opposition, not only from a neighboring property owner and the environmental group Save Barnegat Bay but from the Borough of Mantoloking.

Mantoloking Borough Attorney Jean Cipriani told the Brick Township Board of Adjustment that it was opposing the project as well.

Cipriani objected to the zoning board hearing on the application proceeding at all, on the basis of lack of notice. Mantoloking, she argued, may be within the 200-foot radius of the property and, she said, should have been included on the formal notifications required to property owners within 200 feet.

John Jackson, attorney for Vilamoura, argued the developer used the 200-foot notice list provided by the Brick Township tax assessor, which is standard practice in zoning and planning board matters.

"The (Brick Township) tax assessor did the radius and Mantoloking is 700 feet away," Jackson said.

"The spirit of the law is better served by noticing the adjoining town," Cipriani said.
The zoning board voted to move ahead with the hearing, which after hearing testimony from the operators of the proposed venue and part of the architect, was carried to July 10.

Barry Maurillo and his brother Joe Maurillo and longtime friend and business partner Vito Cucci own three upscale wedding venues in New Jersey: the Park Savoy in Florham Park, the Nanina’s in the Park in Belleville, and the Park Chateau in East Brunswick. But they had been seeking a waterfront site for some time.

The former Winter Yacht Basin that was used by Hinckley Corp. to service its yacht customers provides 270-degree waterfront views, and the goal, he said, is to create an elegant venue that gives couples the atmosphere of a private yacht club that isn’t accessible to most people.

Maurillo said the size of the building — 78 feet high, with a building peak of 82.2 feet — will give it grandeur that people seek in weddings.

The main building includes parking, space for trash receptacles and an entry area that is high enough to accommodate a charter bus. The entryway would have elevators and a spiral stairway to reach the upper floors, which include a cocktail area on the second floor, a ballroom on the third floor, and a glassed-in top floor for rooftop wedding ceremonies. There is a groom’s suite and a bridal suite, which Maurillo noted is larger "because you gotta make them (the brides) happy."

The second and third floors would have wraparound decks that woul allow wedding guests to step through sliding glass doors to go outside for air, though the rooms themselves would stay closed.
The venue would accommodate up to 350 people for a wedding, though Maurillo said most of the weddings they see now are in the 200- to 210-guest range.

Maurillo said the venue is designed primarily for weddings, and said about 90 percent of what they do at their other properties are weddings and receptions, with most of those being 5 p.m. or later on the weekends.

"That’s the trend these days," he said.

The facility also would include a casual restaurant on the first floor, which Joe Maurillo said is envisioned as a dock-and-dine restaurant, with a raw oyster and seafood bar, and seating for about 200. The restaurant would be seasonal, roughly April through October, and Joe Maurillo said the exact plan for the operations was still being discussed, but preliminary plans anticipate the restaurant operating for lunch through dinner, with the possibility of remaining open past midnight. The wedding venue was anticipated to wind up between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m, with the bulk of the weddings ending around 11 p.m.

Dan Governale of Barlo, Governale and Associates architectural firm of Brick, said the building has been designed with influences of the waterfront shore communities of the area, with shingle siding, lots of windows and glass to take in the views and landscaping that would match the area.
The building also is terraced to give a sense of flow, and its tallest points are the gambrel roof and tower that is the stairway.

The building would sit toward the front of the 18.85-acre property near Mantoloking Road on an area of the site that previously had structures, away from sensitive wetlands and would not disturb further land at the site, Governale said.

Barnegat Bay Marina, which is operating at the site, will remain in operation. The site plans also call for a marina building that will include a swimming pool, a ship’s store, dockmaster’s quarters, laundry facilities and restrooms. Testimony on the specifics of the marina building was carried to the July 10 meeting.

It’s anticipated the biggest concern will be traffic to and from the site. Mantoloking Road is one lane in each direction, and residents complain of summer traffic in particular being heavy on the stretch of road.

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