TOMS RIVER – The township and the state have reached a preliminary agreement for the purchase of Joey Harrison’s Surf Club, which they hope to turn into open beachfront.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will be paying approximately 91 percent of the purchase price. The funding will come from the Blue Acres program which purchases land that is prone to flood damage.
The exact purchase price won’t be made public until the contracts are signed, Business Administrator Louis Amoruso said.
“This property will preserve open space and provide increased public access for all of our residents to enjoy. We want to thank the NJDEP and Ocean County. The proposed purchase would not have been possible without the assistance of the Ocean County Commissioners and I want to thank them for their hard work in helping to make this happen. We also want to thank the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association (OBVTA) for all their help in supporting the negotiations to arrive at this preliminary agreement,” said Mayor Mo Hill.
The Ortley Beach nightclub was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy and has remained closed ever since. Locals have urged the township to purchase it and turn it into a recreational area. One plan would have a boardwalk and gazebo there. 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. A developer had been circling it in the past.
The town had made an offer to the owner, but the owner thought it was worth more. This has led to an impasse where the town offered one amount, and the owner counteroffered a higher amount. As one councilman said, the town “won’t be held hostage” by the property owner. At one point, it was reported that an appraisal of the property came in at $6.3 million but the seller’s appraisal was for $8.3 million.
“After years of fighting for the purchase of the Surf Club, I could not be happier to see our hard work nearing fruition. As the Ward 1 Council Member, representing Toms River’s barrier island sections, this purchase is close to home. It will be the first opportunity to preserve open space on the barrier island. I want to also thank the OBVTA and their executive officers for their support in these negotiations,” said Councilwoman Maria Maruca.
The Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association has been pushing for the purchase for some time.
“Thank you to the Toms River Mayor and Council and the NJDEP for the preliminary agreement in principle to purchase the Surf Club. This has been a long process but we could not be prouder that an agreement appears to be in sight. This pristine piece of property will be enjoyed by all the residents of Toms River and Ortley Beach for decades to come,” said OBVTA President Anthony Colucci.
Several Ortley Beach residents in attendance at the Township Council meeting thanked the governing body for their decision.
The vote on the agreement was 6-1, with Councilman Daniel Rodrick as the only ‘No’ vote.
“Paying $8 million for beach access and a parking lot is absurd,” he said. He added that he’s not necessarily against the purchase but he’s more concerned about the economics. The public already has a beach.
According to the tax rolls, the property is worth $2 million, so he can’t see it being sold for more.
“It would never sell for this on the free market which is why it hasn’t sold since Sandy,” he said.
Maruca said that cleaning up the eyesore and making it an attractive shoreline will do wonders for residents. The local businesses in Ortley will see a benefit from it as well.
“Environmentally, it’s the right decision. Economically, it’s the right decision,” she said.
Councilwoman Laurie Huryk said that Rodrick was misrepresenting the information. You base purchases on appraisals, not tax rolls.
The DEP making a purchase like this is very rare and it should be supported, she said.
Also during the meeting, Toms River Council agreed to sell land to Ocean County in the amount of $1.88 million. This land is near Cattus Island Park and Ocean County College.
Rodrick was the sole ‘no’ vote on this as well.
“Toms River should not be subsidizing the purchase of the Surf Club,” Rodrick said.
Huryk said that the $1.88 million isn’t going to the property owner; it’s also going to cleaning up and beautifying the area.
This purchase had come before the Ocean County Commissioners before but fell through. In this previous case, the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund buys acres of land every year to keep it open space. The difference is that they always buy from private owners. This would be one government, the county, buying land from another government, the township.
“Government land is already preserved. Nobody needs to buy it,” Commissioner Gerry Little said at the time. He was concerned that the county’s open space tax would become a “political piggy bank,” buying land from other towns.
A spokesperson for the county said that the money didn’t come from the Natural Lands Trust. The money being used was originally in the 2019 Ocean County budget for acquisition and development of land. It’s a general budget allocation.
Funding was reallocated in the County’s 2020 budget, again for acquisition and development should a future need arise. The county therefore had the money available to purchase the tracts.
