Asbury Park, Long Neglected, Shows Signs of Rejuvenation
In what iStar is calling a pivotal moment, the company will soon seek public approval for its plans to build a 16-story luxury hotel and condominium on an Ocean Avenue foundation where two previous developers failed.
Asbury Park’s revival has more to do with demographic trends and a generational desire to live in more urban areas than a master plan hatched in the 1980s that largely failed to take off. Gay men and lesbians have gravitated to Asbury as a less expensive alternative to Fire Island and the Hamptons. Rail service also makes it easily accessible from New York City and northern New Jersey, and the city has a solid core of downtown commercial buildings ripe for development.
