ASBURY PARK, N.J. (AP) - In the Jersey shore city that
gave Bruce Springsteen's debut album its name, owners of the first new hotel to
open there in more than 50 years hope they can convince locals and tourists
alike that what was once considered a slum by the sea is now a destination with
a bright future.
Designer Anda Andrei and hotel operator David Bowd have
transformed the vacant Salvation Army Retired Officers Home into The Asbury, a
110-room hotel that will permit guests to check in at any time of day, for
accommodations ranging from ocean view suites to rooms featuring bunk beds that
can sleep up to eight.
The company has spent about $46 million on the property,
which had an outstanding judgment of $8.5 million against the previous owners
at the time of foreclosure.
From the ground floor to the roof, the hotel offers
options for the spectrum of Asbury Park's diverse visitors, whom Bowd calls
"a melting pot" of young, old, artists, musicians and gays.
Previous rebuilding attempts in Asbury Park - made famous
by Springsteen's 1973 album "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." - have
seen grand ideas and great expectations collapse because of shallow pockets in economic
downturns. But iStar Inc., which is developing the hotel and beachfront,
believes it has a long-term strategy.
"It's all part of elevating the customer experience
and trying to make the waterfront great," said senior vice president Brian
Cheripka. "You have this eclectic community. This urban vibe. This little
city by the sea, and there's this opportunity to get it right."
The beach has been drawing crowds since the late 1800s,
and the city once boasted as many as 100 hotels and 600,000 annual visitors,
said Asbury Park Historical Society president Don Stine.
Its popularity started to wane in the 1960s, when the development
of the Garden State Parkway, a highway that runs the length of the state,
opened access to other shore towns and a mall drew customers away from the
shopping district. That, in tandem with a race riot in 1970, had Asbury
withering away, with seagulls outnumbering humans on the beaches and many
hotels being boarded up or becoming de facto homes for the deinstitutionalized,
who wandered the streets and boardwalk through the 1980s.
Back then, the city seemed gray and depressing even on a
sunny day.
"There was more demolition than construction,
especially at the beachfront," Stine said. "You had to have faith
Asbury would come back, and I think we're into a great revival of the seashore
resort's prime real estate," he said.
The revival began with spurts of development in the 1990s
and early 2000s, initially fueled by gays seeking a cheaper alternative to New
York's Hamptons and Fire Island. Developers built condominiums and rejuvenated
downtown storefronts, which sold or rented for less than other oceanfront
towns.
A range of restaurants opened, and a series of annual
festivals drew patrons to the city's two major hotels.
The food is one of the reasons Madeleine Berk, of Miami,
loves Asbury. When she's up from Florida, she hits the restaurants with friends
before attending concerts throughout the year.
Candy Cohen travels frequently to Asbury from her home in
Englewood, Florida, for the music scene and to support the Light of Day
Foundation concerts, which raise money for research into Parkinson's disease,
and often feature surprise Springsteen performances. The self-proclaimed
"honorary Jersey girl" has previously chosen her hotel based on its
proximity to the concert venue.
She said she was excited about the new hotel, which is
across from Convention Hall and several blocks from The Stone Pony bar and
club.
For the new hotel's designer, the goal was to be the
"center of gravity" in the town. "The magic of this is fun,
creating a true adult camp," Andrei said.
Source: Philly.com
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