TOMS RIVER – Joey Harrison’s Beach Club is now Toms River’s Beach Club.
The Surf Club was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. It has not been repaired since. It’s now an eyesore, and an attractive nuisance.
Local residents have been petitioning the township to buy it, knock it down, and preserve it for passive recreation. There was a cost factor in all of this.
The owner thought it was still a valuable piece of property. A developer could build another night club or homes on the site. The township thought it was worth less than the owner did, so there was an impasse.
Members of the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association believed so much in the cause that they even hired their own mediator to get both parties to come to the table.
The total price of the purchase will be $7.3 million, township officials said. This money is coming from a few sources.
In August, the Township Council passed an ordinance to authorize the payment of the Township’s portion of $685,000 from the Open Space Trust Fund. Taxpayers currently pay 1.5 cents per $100 of equalized valuation to fuel this fund.
The remainder – $6.615 million – is coming from New Jersey “Blue Acres,” which is funding to buy land close to bodies of water to protect the environment.
Township officials sat down in the law offices of Berry, Sahradnik, Kotzas & Benson in town to transfer the property officially.
Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill credited Councilwoman Maria Maruca, the members of the Ortley Beach Association and the Ocean County Commissioners with preserving the beachfront.
“Without the tenacity of Maria Maruca, the persistence of the OBHA residents and the cooperation of the Ocean County Commissioners, the beach club would probably have been developed into mansions or condos,” Mayor Hill said. “Thanks to their efforts and creativity, the property will be preserved for all to enjoy and the quality of life in Toms River is enhanced.”
The future use of the site has not been made public, or set in stone. There has been talk about having a gazebo and boardwalk (without amusements). Between the existing parking lot, and more that would be added, there could be 100 spots. The property, located at 1900 Ocean Avenue in Ortley Beach, is one of the few ocean-front tracts of land on the market.
