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In his annual address to the city’s Homeowner’s Association, iStar Senior Vice President of Land and Development Brian Cheripka outlined not only the waterfront redeveloper’s goals and initiatives moving forward but made a plea for the community to work together as a whole.

Cheripka [at right] asked the standing room only crowd Saturday morning inside Langosta Lounge, on the Asbury Park boardwalk, to put trust in those who have delivered on their promises.

When speaking of where the master redeveloper is today, Cheripka spoke of working with the grassroots Complete Streets Coalition.

“When we talk about bike lanes and creating more green space, being more pedestrian friendly,” he said. “These are all things we should be focused on but how we achieve them, that’s where the devil is in the details.”

Pertaining to the redevelopment of the iconic Casino and Carousel buildings, Cheripka spoke of wanting boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette to move faster.

“The redevelopment of the Casino and the Carousel, I’m just disappointed,” he said. “When I look at this building, this is like yesteryear. For us we think for us the [structures’] redevelopment are critical to the success of 1101 Ocean [below right project rendering] and what we are trying to build across the street. What I am afraid of is that I convince someone to come down to Asbury Park…they buy a unit, they make a right and that’s what they see…This says uncertainty.”

Cheripka received resounding applause when he said iStar has made a proposal to Madison Marquette to accelerate the redevelopment. Citing that 1101 Ocean could be developed by 2019 if development began tomorrow, Cheripka said “we need to make sure this is taken care of by then so we are creating a customer experience.”

Applause came again when he said, “Our basic pitch is, if you are not willing to this yourself, please step aside and we will take care of it. Just like 1101 is important for the community we believe the carousel and casino are important as well.”

Madison Marquette’s Managing Director of Investments Peter Tomai [shown at far left in photo of Gov. Chris Christie’s recent Asbury Park tour] said in a written statement Monday that they are “excited to work hand in hand with our partner iStar to advance our collective development plans and grow the excitement surrounding Asbury Park.  The recently completed Asbury Hotel and improvements at the Wonder Bar along with the upcoming redevelopment of the Fifth Avenue Pavilion are just samples of what’s in store for the waterfront in the coming months and years.

“Redevelopment of the Casino, Carousel, and Arcade is one of the most important pieces of the Asbury Park Waterfront and community as a whole,” he said. “Madison continues to work with our retail, food, beverage and entertainment partners in pursuit of a world-class development plan which will be a sustainable and iconic part of the Asbury Park community. We are currently advancing the engineering work to facilitate the work necessary to return the luster and excitement of the south end of the waterpark.”

The other pivotal goal is the relocation of the sewage treatment facility [at right]. Again, applause came for Cheripka’s vision to decommission the building.

“This issue is directly linked to a long term solution for Bradley Cove,” he said. “We have not done anything with Bradley Cove [shown below right] and we continue to say that whole area needs to be rethought.”

Cheripka said iStar has submitted documents to the municipality that would allow the redeveloper to spend $100,000 to get build out studies completed to vet the reality of the transition by December. He noted that Ocean Township has said they are open to taking on the city’s needs.

“This is our one shot,” he said. “We have programs like the infrastructure financing program and there are other programs in the state we can use. There is no doubt that this is a heavy lift but if we are not going to do it now then we will have to accept the fact that there will be a sewage treatment facility on the waterfront from now until forever.”

His third plea came for the community to speak out with regard to the pending Waterfront Redevelopment Plan amendments.

“We want to do things with the plan amendment that makes sense for the community,” he said. “I need the community to know that we are trying to move them forward and we need your help.”

In a telephone interview Monday morning, Mayor John Moor said, “the city always has been and always be willing to negotiate with the all developers. We disagree with some of his statements but that happens sometimes in a partnership.”

Moor said city officials cleared their calendars Tuesday to participate in an all day meeting regarding the waterfront redevelopment amendments but that meeting was canceled by iStar. He also noted that the city gave iStar the nod to construct a storage facility near the Webb Avenue Miramar condos, where residents have complained about the storage use on two nearby lots.

Cheripka began his presentation by recapping completed projects and those currently in the midst of development.

“Every time you see a new project go up, the net to the city is probably ten time greater than what it was before,” he said. “What that means is ultimately if we are successful across 2,000 units or more the cost of services in Asbury Park really should go down not up.”

The Vive units [shown above right], which sold initially for $500,000, now have a value of $800,000, Cheripka said.

The Monroe, currently in construction, awaits stone panels from Texas, and sales of the units are on hold until the project gets further along, he said.

[at right photos of master waterfront redeveloper iStar 1101 Ocean, The Asbury, and Monroe projects]

“We are trying to introduce a new architectural standard of design by working with Anda Andrei and Chad Oppenheim,” he said. “ What we are trying to do is bring a type of architecture people haven’t seen before along the Jersey Shore, and bring something new and special to Asbury Park.”

The Asbury [at right], completed in May, is the first hotel of its size constructed within the city in over 50 years. Resounding applause came when Cheripka pointed out that the building [vacant since 2004] was purchased from PNC bank in 2013.

“The goal was to create a transformational destination,” he said of the 110-room hotel. “In 2014 we set a goal to have that hotel open by May of 2016. I think it well help make Asbury Park a place that people will want to come and want to stay.”

[at right 1101 undeveloped site]

The 1101 Ocean construction, currently stalled as they await city approvals, is a mixed use commercial, hotel, and residential space at the long stagnant block of Kingsley Street, Third Ocean, and Fourth avenues.

“This is just an iconic project for us,” he said. “We think it’s very important to the community. We are taking our time with this design, but we believe it will elevate the customer experience and help make Asbury Park more of a destination again.”

Cheripka said the redevelopment of the popular Asbury Lanes [at right]bowling alley and entertainment venue is underway, with a new roof being put in place prior to the interior construction.

With the goal to help make the city a year round destination, iStar chose to drop “Waterfront” from its branding. He said iStar promotions team is centered on the city’s betterment as a whole.

Since Aug 2015, there has been 830 placements in publications like Travel and Leisure, The New York Times, New York Post, and Architectural Digest, to name a few.

Cheripka also spoke of the behind the scenes advancements [at right], such as the Atlantic Park upgrade that took less than one year to install a new irrigation system and sod. The waterfront redeveloper will maintain the park for three years, he said.

“If we don’t work together – the city, the community and the redevelopers don’t work together, it just breaks down, and you get nothing,” he said. “…developers won’t invest, the city government will get frustrated, the community will be more frustrated, which will create more political  instability.”

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