Demolition Of Inn Begins As Toms River Plans For Future

TOMS RIVER, NJ — With a loud crunch, years of bad memories were turned to rubble on Thursday in Toms River, as demolition began on the Red Carpet Inn.

Workers with Site Enterprises of Egg Harbor Township began tearing away part of the roof of the inn that had stood at the corner of West Water Street and Main Street for years. The demolition, approved in May by the Toms River Township Council, which bought the property for $3.3 million, is expected to take a couple of weeks to complete.

Mayor Thomas Kelaher and members of the Township Council, including Council President George Wittmann and Councilmen Maurice "Mo" Hill and Terrance Turnbach, were in attendance along with several other township and local officials.

Police Chief Mitchell Little said the closure of the motel has made significant changes in the atmosphere of the downtown area.

"There's just a different feeling," he said. "There's less vagrancy, there's less loitering." He said the closure of the motel has led to a significant decrease in crimes. Burglaries in the 10 months from Nov. 1, 2018 until Thursday are down 55 percent from the 10 months covering Jan. 1, 2018 to Oct. 31, 2018. Drug counts are down 54 percent, and thefts are down 21 percent.

It's a dramatic decrease from the 750 calls to the motel itself from 2015 to November 2017, when Toms River filed a nuisance complaint against the hotel. It moved to buy the motel not long after.

Little said the closure of the Red Carpet Inn helps "address the little problems that can help us solve the big er,

Kelaher said the demolition also is the next step in what the township hopes will be a significant revitalization of Toms River's downtown. Preliminary proposals are for the township to put in a berm around the area to cut down on flooding that has long plagued nearby Irons Street and Herflicker Boulevard.

It also makes way for a proposal to put a 420-unit apartment building at the site. Those plans are still in the preliminary stages, but a photo was shared of the artist's rendering of the site.

Because it's still in the preliminary stages, proposals for the project are still not finalized, but Assistant Planner Erika Stall said some of the details could change along the way.

For now, the town is just looking forward to having the corner cleared. Check out the video below and the drone footage from Township Engineer Bob Chankalian. Take a look:

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