More than a decade ago, architect Matthew Berman heard that Asbury Park, NJ, was emerging as an “up-and-coming” summer retreat.
But when he paid a visit to the Jersey Shore town best known for launching Bruce Springsteen’s career at The Stone Pony, he recalls the place was blighted.
“There were no pavilions, there was no boardwalk,” says Berman, partner at New York-based architecture firm workshop/apd, “and Cookman Avenue, downtown, was boarded up.”
At the time, Berman and his partner, who now have a 6-year-old son, were also considering a second home in Phoenicia, in the Hudson Valley, or Fire Island, but the former was too far from New York City and the latter too expensive.
Asbury Park — just 60 miles south of the city — was both close and affordable. So, looking beyond the unsightly surroundings, Berman and his partner bought a vacation home there in 2002.
Since then, Asbury Park has been transformed into a lively hamlet of art, culture, cuisine and surf shops.
It’s emerged as a hot destination not just for beach revelers — and a sizable LGBT population — but eager condo seekers, as well.
Over the past few years, condos in the beachside town have risen not just in popularity but in price. True, sales numbers have not yet recovered to pre-recession levels, but prices have spiked.
Today, a local condo averages $283,701, according to Gregory Demaras, a broker for the prominent local realtor John C. Conover Agency.
And while the figure represents a 5 percent increase from last year, Asbury Park still remains a bargain compared to the high-priced Hamptons or Long Island’s North Shore.
Demaras, who moved to Asbury Park in 2001, says he has observed multiple waves of interest in second-home buyers who, like Berman, mostly come from New York.
Many are seeking a beachy pied-à-terre, while others are willing to move here full-time in exchange for an increasingly posh, oceanfront setting.
“There is so much activity and curiosity right now, with a tremendous demand for high-quality restaurants and bars — and it’s all coming,” Demaras points out. “There’s an appetite for more.” And more new real estate to meet this demand.
Among the splashy, modern buildings Demaras’ team works with is the Lofts at Asbury Park — which launched in 2009 with studios starting at $250,000 and two-bedrooms priced at $325,000.
Units feature oak floors, granite kitchens and private patios or decks; 16 of the 32 homes have sold.
Two blocks from the beach is another development in the John C. Conover Agency portfolio, the Miramar, a restored 1920s beauty.
Condos range from 565-square-foot studios for $139,000 to 1,400-square-foot three bedrooms for $299,000. Sales began last year; 25 of the 38 units have sold.
Asbury Park’s current real estate push solidified back in 2009 with the arrival of iStar Residential, a division of iStar Financial, as master developer of Asbury Park’s waterfront.
“We have been thoughtfully taking the necessary steps to rebuild the Asbury Park waterfront to include installation of much-needed city infrastructure, demolition of vacant and dilapidated structures, improvements in landscaping, lighting and street trees,” explains Brian Cheripka, vice president, land, iStar Residential.
More recently, the company made a prominent splash when Vive — the first new residential development project to hit the waterfront since 2007 — finally arrived earlier this year.
Vive’s 28 townhomes, from 1,700 to 2,200 square feet, averaged $480,000 when they went on sale in 2012. Sales commenced in two phases with each installment of 14 selling out in a day.
“There were more than 600 potential buyers,” Cheripka notes.
Another sought-after building is the Mediterranean-inspired North Beach Asbury Park, a 157-unit mixed rental/condo project with ocean views and open kitchens.
North Beach is now selling its final phase and remaining residences (all two-bedrooms) start in the mid-$400,000s.
The newest condo to make a splash is sustainable-minded Eureka, housed in a 1927 Art Deco building (Asbury Park’s tallest) that features terrazzo floors and a patina brass mail chute.
“The site is special, an important piece of architecture and history,” says Jim Watt, partner at design/development firm Smith, which unveiled Eureka in June.
Smith is best known for a slew of game-changing Asbury Park’s restaurants — like Porta for Neopolitan-style pizza, the veggie-focused Goldie’s, the Annex bar and Pascal & Sabine, the buzzing brasserie at the base of Eureka.
Handout
The Smith firm now feels it’s the right time to venture into the housing market.
Eureka’s 23 hotel-like duplexes range from $285,000 to $935,000 and half of them are already spoken for by a mix of young professional couples and those on the prowl for a second home.
Amenities of the 839- to 2,037-square-foot homes include desks that convert into bunk beds, dining tables that fold away and transparent showers that morph into privacy mode.
Watt isn’t surprised by Eureka’s positive response. “It’s in the center of town with breathtaking ocean views and it’s impeccably designed,” he says.
As for Asbury’s next real estate wave, it too is already in motion. Right now, for instance, iStar is working on numerous new developments, including South Grand, a 28-unit townhouse project by K. Hovnanian Homes.
South Grand marks the first time a national homebuilder has come to Asbury Park since 1984, and the developer is also creating a nearby boutique hotel.
Both projects should be completed by 2016.
In the meantime, current Asbury Park owners like Berman are leaving their mark on the town.
Although primarily based in Park Slope, Berman is designing a new iteration of local sushi favorite, Taka, which is expanding to a building three times its original size.
Additionally, workshop/apd is revamping a Loch Arbour (a town next to Asbury Park) beach club destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.
“Asbury Park appreciates an urban design. People are coming here because it’s chic,” says Berman. “We need that city connection. We’re not rockers-on-the-porch kind of guys.”