Red Carpet Inn Demolition Near In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Red Carpet Inn may soon be gone from downtown Toms River landscape.

The Township Council approved a $345,000 contract for Site Enterprises Inc. of Egg Harbor Township a year after approving the $3.3 million purchase of the motel on Water Street, which had been a thorn in the town's side for years. Site Enterprises specializes in site remediation, asbestos removal and demolition services, according to its website.

The motel had been the source of so many problems — the police department logged more than 750 calls from 2015 to November 2017 — that the township filed a nuisance complaint and passed an ordinance banning motel stays of less than 24 hours, requiring identification and barring anyone under 18 from renting a motel room for a night.

The township closed on the purchase Oct. 30, and in January Police Chief Mitchell Little said the closure had an immediate, measurable impact on crime in the downtown area. Assaults, burglaries and narcotics incidents all decreased. Disorderly persons calls were reduced to a single report, from 13 in 2017.

The council had appropriated $4.8 million for the motel purchase and demolition, which also is part of the town's plans to revitalize and redevelop the waterfront. The demolition of the motel is part of efforts to address flooding and drainage issues that repeatedly swamp Water Street, Irons Street and Herflicker Boulevard during heavy rains.

Because of the flooding in that area, the township is planning to use the area for parking and to improve traffic flow in the area. Councilman Maurice "Mo" Hill said plans also are in the works for a kayak launch at the site.

"It can't be built on. It's too low-lying," he said.

Note: This article has been updated to reflect the action taken at the Township Council meeting.

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