Oceanfront resort plans unveiled
Developer will kick in $20M for Millennium Pier
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

Long Branch will get $20 million for the construction of a multimillion- dollar pier as part of an agreement with the developers of an expansive resort hotel zone along the Long Branch oceanfront.

The cash payment will go toward the estimated $55 million Millennium Pier to be built in the Pier Village Redevelopment zone that borders the hotel/campus property.

"This guarantees the pier will be a reality," City Attorney James Aaron said at the July 24 workshop meeting.

"And part of the developer's agreement will [include] payment as the project progresses," Aaron said.

The cash payment was part of plans unveiled last week for a $500 million renovation and expansion of the Ocean Place Resort & Spa hotel on the Long Branch oceanfront.

The multiuse redevelopment project calls for construction of additional hotel units as well as residential and retail space on the 18-acre Ocean Boulevard site.

"Right now [the Ocean Place] is a three-star hotel and we are going to make it a four-star," said David Orr, a partner in Ocean Place Development, at the council's workshop meeting where plans were presented.

"We want Ocean Place to be a year-round destination," Orr said, adding that the project will include a revamping of the current hotel located on the site.

The developer is scheduled to appear before council for approval of the conceptual plans at a special meeting Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. A public hearing on the project will also be held at that time.

If council approves the plans, the developer will submit plans to the state for the permits necessary to construct on the beachfront, before appearing in front of the city's Planning Board for approval.

The developer must receive final approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the City Council before moving forward.

The Ocean Place hotel is located in the hotel/campus redevelopment zone, one of six redevelopment zones in the city.

Key to the hotel/campus plan, according to the developer, is the extension of Broadway across Ocean Boulevard through to the beach.

"Right now Broadway is blocked by [the hotel] conference center," project architect Bill Hellmuth, of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, said.

Plans call for the current 75,000 square-foot-conference center to be demolished to allow for Broadway to extend across Ocean Boulevard to the ocean, according to Hellmuth.

"In creating a destination, you need to have a space, a heart and streets," Hellmuth said. "We have the ability for the building to be understood on many levels as a destination place to be, with shopping, retail, residential."

Ocean Place Development, a joint venture of Orr Partners and Tiburon Capitol Corp., owns all the property on the project site, which extends from Laird Street to Madison Avenue and from Ocean Boulevard to the oceanfront. The site is bisected by Broadway and also includes a tract of land from Abbottsford Avenue.

The plans call for a new hotel tower to be constructed next to the existing tower to give a 'twin identity' appearance, according to Hellmuth, who added that the reconfigured hotel will contain a total of 314 rooms.

The current tower will be gutted, according to Hellmuth, who added it will undergo a facelift to reflect modern hotel design features such as larger bathrooms and amenities like flat-screen TVs.

In addition, 200 condo/hotel units will be constructed, according to Orr, who said the hotel will have the ability to book more than 500 rooms.

Another 275 residential units will be constructed on the site and 77 of those will be marketed as affordable, Orr said.

"Affordable housing, we really want to put it on the site," Orr said. "We want to integrate it on the site. We have a crying need for it in this community."

Plans also include constructing 250,000 square feet of retail space, 103,000 square feet of commercial space and 2,300 parking spaces.

The parking spaces will be constructed in three garages, all of which are connected by an underground parking facility, according to Hellmuth.

He added that the ground level of the buildings will be lined with retail.

The Ocean Place expansion project, once completed, will provide 1,500 to 1,600 jobs in the city, Orr said.

The developers have also pledged to incorporate green features in the project, such as energy-efficient roofs, walls and screens, according to Orr.

Another green aspect will be the use of wind energy, Hellmuth explained.

"This is going to change the whole face of the city," said Councilman Brian Unger after the presentation.

"It is going to change the oceanfront," he said, adding that the project is the biggest to be completed in the city.

"I just would like to know that other architectural [plans] have been submitted," Unger said. "We need to make sure we get critiques. It is so big. Is there something more dramatic, more iconic?"

Orr assured Unger that the conceptual process has been well thought out and three architectural firms have contributed to the plan.

Orr added that the plans are conceptual at this point and once the approvals and permits are obtained, the architectural design of the buildings can evolve.

"This will be the largest convention center between New York and Philadelphia and it's the only one located on the beach," Aaron said at the workshop meeting.

Other aspects of the plan include the construction of two destination restaurants and possibly a multiplex movie theater or a bowling alley.

The main entrance of the hotel will also be raised up one level so when people walk into the lobby they will be on the second floor and able to overlook the beach and ocean, according to Hellmuth.

The power point presentation of the project will be featured on the city's Web site at www.longbranch.org.