City approves land purchase for hotel zone BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer LONG BRANCH - At the city municipal meeting Dec. 26, the City Council approved a resolution permitting land to be purchased by a developer for an oceanfront redevelopment proposal. Council adopted resolution 384-06, authorizing redeveloper Ocean Place Development LLC to purchase Abbottsford Avenue properties for the Hotel Campus redevelopment zone. The Hotel Campus Zone, one of six redevelopment zones in the city, extends from Laird Street to Madison Avenue and from Ocean Boulevard to the oceanfront. The zone also extends into a portion of land on Abbottsford Avenue. According to the resolution, the original redevelopment agreement between the redeveloper and the city of Long Branch dates back to 1985 and provided the developer with the option of purchasing properties along Abbottsford Avenue. "[The] redeveloper has been working toward the preparation and submission of a development proposal for the Hotel Campus Sector and has prepared and shown preliminary conceptual plans to the city for the development it envisions for the proposed project," according to the resolution. It continues, "[The] redeveloper wishes to exercise its option to purchase the Abbottsford Avenue properties in connection with the development proposal. "The city wished to complete the transaction for the sale of the Abbottsford Avenue properties to the redeveloper." The city and the redeveloper plan to work toward entering an amended and restated redevelopment agreement and implement a development proposal to be submitted to the city for approval, according to the resolution. The city originally entered into the developer's agreement with Gem Holdings Inc., which resulted in the construction of the Ocean Place Hilton Hotel. With the consent of the city, Gem Holdings signed its rights over to Tiburon Ocean Place in 2000. At the March 14 municipal meeting, council authorized the transfer of development rights for the zone from Tiburon Ocean Place, owner of the Ocean Place Resort & Spa, to Ocean Place Development. Tiburon Ocean Place partnered with Orr Partners to form Ocean Place Development.