For 20 years, the steel skeleton of a partially constructed building stood over Asbury Park's waterfront as a symbol of stalled redevelopment and broken dreams. When it was torn down nearly two years ago to make way for a luxury condominium complex, the flurry of activity became a symbol of hope for Asbury Park's future. Singer John Oates bought into the complex. Even the project's name, the Esperanza, which means "hope" in Spanish, seemed to signify a new day.
Yesterday, the developer of the oceanfront high-rise abruptly announced he had stopped construction and sales temporarily because of the cooling real estate market. "We are convinced that the national mortgage crisis now impacting real estate markets around the country represents a temporary setback, and we remain fully committed to Asbury Park and its rebirth," said Dean Geibel, president of Hoboken-based Metro Homes LLC.
Metro Homes' other projects, including a high-rise condo complex with Donald Trump in Jersey City billed as one of the tallest residential buildings in New Jersey, are not affected, Geibel said. Though Geibel and Asbury Park officials remained upbeat about the outcome, James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Policy and Planning at Rutgers University, said this will have an impact on the city's redevelopment. "It's certainly going to slow it down to a great extent," he said. Hughes said Asbury Park is experiencing the same problems as other urban areas around the country and those conditions could last two or three years.
Geibel declined to discuss specific market conditions that forced him to reach the decision to halt construction, but Councilman John Loffredo said that in previous conversations with Geibel, the developer said banks were leery about lending money because of the softening market. He said Geibel initially sought to scale back the design of the 224-unit luxury building, which boasted an upscale restaurant, valet service, private cabanas and a pool. It was to have a modern architectural design replicating the wind and ocean waves.
Loffredo said he told Geibel he would not accept a scaled-down version and any significant changes in design would have to be approved by the city's planning board. Last summer, Geibel trotted out Oates, half of the pop duo Hall and Oates, in a public relations event where the musician discussed his purchase of a two-bedroom, two-bath condo for $675,000 as a third home. At the time, Geibel said 57 units had been sold.
Now that construction is on hold, the downpayments that purchasers gave Metro Homes will be held in escrow, Geibel said. It is unclear how long the hiatus will last, but Geibel said yesterday he is in negotiations to get construction started again. He would not elaborate. Once a famed seaside resort that attracted tourists from all over the East, Asbury Park fell on hard times in the 1960s and couldn't shake its broken down, honky-tonk image. By the 1980s, the city made its first attempt at oceanfront redevelopment, only to be plunged further into economic despair when the developer went bankrupt. Construction halted for nearly 15 years while the dispute was sorted out in bankruptcy court.
On the oceanfront lot between Third and Fourth avenues stood the steel structure that served as a daily reminder of the failed redevelopment. With much fanfare, the rusting hulk was torn down in April 2006. There was much hype around the construction of the Esperanza almost from the minute of its inception. Initially, the developer wanted to call it "The Rising," until rocker Bruce Springsteen, an Asbury Park regular, balked at the name of his newly-released album and title song written in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks being used for a condominium complex. So Metro Homes held a much-publicized contest -- and put up a $10,000 scholarship for the winner
Source: NJ.com