Bamboo Bar, Karma nightclubs in Seaside Heights to become housing, retail

SEASIDE HEIGHTS -- Mayor Anthony Vaz has a dream about the Boulevard.

He sees a thriving business district, complete with restaurants, clothing stores, and condominiums and townhouses for year-round living. "That is what I want to see," he said on a recent summer day, as he pointed to various properties that are either already under development or approved for new construction.

Three of the major Boulevard venues that were the center of Seaside Heights hard-partying image -- the Bamboo Bar, Karma and Merge nightclubs -- all have proposed redevelopment plans. Merge and Bamboo have been demolished; Karma has been closed since the borough revoked its liquor license in 2018.

Housing is planned for all three nightclub properties, plus a parking lot next to Merge. Retail spaces are also planned for all three projects on the Boulevard, in keeping with the borough's redevelopment plans, which call for mixed-used buildings on the street, with commercial space on the lower floors and housing up above.

"What I am looking for, and what the council is looking for is, let's see if we can become year-round," Vaz said. He said he envisions a Seaside Heights with a bigger year-round population that can support local restaurants and boardwalk businesses during the normally lean winter months.

Now the community will have a chance to chime in on the borough's redevelopment efforts. A "Community Visioning Workshop" is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 7, at the George E. Tompkins Municipal Building on Sherman Avenue. The workshop will give the public the chance to give their ideas for what Seaside Heights should look like in 20 years, "where it seems to be heading," and "what has been done to achieve the desired vision."

After Superstorm Sandy destroyed much of the boardwalk and flooded large parts of the borough in 2012, Seaside Heights saw its permanent population fall, from about 2,900 residents in 2010 to about 2,400 in 2020. The borough's ratable base was also devastated by Sandy, falling from about $843 million in 2012 to $618 million in 2013, which was also the year a boardwalk fire destroyed 68 businesses in Seaside Heights and neighboring Seaside Park.

The ratable base has still not recovered, although it grew to $673 million last year. The population is also growing, albeit slowly, to about 2,500 people in 2022, according to U.S. Census data.

More: Seaside Heights may ban post-prom motel rentals for people under 21, but risks lawsuit

Vaz said the borough was at a crossroads after Sandy: Long known as a party town, Seaside Heights' quality-of-life had deteriorated for its full-time residents. As the borough began its long recovery, officials wanted something different, to move away from what Vaz has described as the "bar atmosphere," and back to a more "family-friendly" destination.

By rezoning properties, and declaring areas in need of redevelopment, the council has moved to help make Seaside Heights more appealing to developers. A number of "quality-of-life" measures, have been adopted, including banning "teen nights" at clubs, cracking down on so-called "animal houses," and raising the rental age for short-term rentals, first to 18, and, more recently, to 21, in an attempt to discourage rowdy teen parties during prom and graduation season.

"I think the mayor and council have worked very hard to make Seaside a family-oriented town, which it was in the 1950s and 1960s when I grew up there," said Seaside Heights native George R. Gilmore, Ocean County's GOP chairman. "In the 1970s and 1980s it became more of a party town, but now it is starting to go back. I think they are starting to get the type of development that will really start to make a difference."

Fatal fire: 'Unspeakable tragedy' Infant, teen among 4 killed in Buttonwood Drive Lacey Township fire

Gilmore serves a a consultant for the biggest development planned for the Boulevard, a 10-story tower to be located between Hamilton and Webster avenues that will occupy the site of an unfinished, rusted steel skeleton that towered over the street for years. SSH Boulevard LLC plans to build 77 residential units, a restaurant and retail space on the site, hoping to attract year-round residents.

The project recently received its final state approvals, and Gilmore said he expects the developer to appear before the planning board shortly for site plan approval. SSH Boulevard hopes to break ground by the fall.

The borough recently reached out to the developer to seek an update on plans. "After two years, you've got to get going," Vaz said.

Vaz said some residents had expressed concern about the towering height of the project, but he said a developer was needed to "kickstart" building on the Boulevard, and convince others to build there. "We need something to start there," the mayor said. "We believe it's the key to getting more developers interested."

More: Clam Fest in Highlands and more things to do this week at the Jersey Shore

It seems to be working.

Seaside Realty owner Mike Loundy, who is also the borough's Community Development Director, said projects for the former Karma and Merge sites are well underway. Planned for Merge and an adjacent parking lot at 300 Boulevard are 11 single-family homes in the rear of the property, with a mixed-use building with three townhouses and four stores that will be constructed along the Boulevard.

After receiving approval from the planning board, Loundy said the development is ready to proceed; he said the first home to be built on the property is expected to soon be marketed at a price of $949,000. It will be a five-bedroom, four-bath house, about 3,000 square feet in size.

At Karma, 36 townhomes are planned with commercial space on the Boulevard, and an indoor pool for residents, Loundy said. "We’re just finalizing our state approvals," said Loundy of the Karma project. "We are very excited about finalizing our approvals with the city, and to be able to roll out this magnificent, one-of-a-kind project."

He said his office has been receiving many inquiries from people interested in commercial space in town.

The Bamboo Bar was demolished almost two years ago. A weed-covered lot is all that remains of the club where the cast of MTV's Jersey Shore frequently came to party. Initial plans for the site included 48 residential units and commercial space on the Boulevard, but Vaz said the project has not yet come to fruition after the developer became ill.

There have been some other bumps in the road as the borough's redevelopment moves forward.

Memorial Day weekend saw an influx of rowdy teens who were in town to celebrate the holiday and after-prom parties. Police Chief Thomas Boyd said officers charged 51 adults and 23 juveniles over that weekend for a variety of offenses, including underage drinking, fighting and disorderly conduct. Boyd said the weekend was the worst he has seen in terms of the number of teens who were drunk or high and causing issues.

Following complaints by business owners and year-round residents, the Borough Council acted, putting in place a 10 p.m. curfew for those under 18, closing the beach at 8 p.m., and most controversially, adopting an ordinance that requires anyone renting a room, house, condominium or apartment in the borough during prom season to be at least 21.

A similar ordinance, which requires hotel and motel room renters to be at least 21, is scheduled to be considered for adoption by the council on August 16, in spite of a threat by Toms River lawyer Christopher Shea to sue the borough if the measure is passed. Shea represents a group of hotel and motel owners who have so far chosen to remain anonymous.

"A few businessmen, they are upset about this stuff," Vaz said. But he said most of the feedback he receives, from both residents and business owners, has been positive.

Many dilapidated homes, damaged by Sandy, have been demolished, with newer houses built on the properties.

"People understand that if you put something into it, you will increase the value," Vaz said of Seaside's homeowners.

An Asbury Park Press analysis of home sales showed soaring values in Seaside Heights: the average price of a home here rose to $396,739 in 2022, up nearly 60% from $253,288 in 2020. Loundy said many new homeowners in the borough are renting their properties in the summer time, for prices of $5,000 to $7,500 a week. About 60 new single-family homes have been built in the borough in the last couple of years, he said.

Some have replaced older motels that have been sold and demolished for redevelopment. So far, 14 motels have been sold, and Loundy said another four are under contract. Among them: the Surfside and Glendale motels, where a Boston-based developer hopes to build a 170- to 180-room hotel and banquet facility.

Another is the troubled Offshore Motel, site of a 2021 murder. K. Hovnanian is under contract to purchase the property and demolish it to build 24 townhouses.

"If everything goes right, we should have a lot of groundbreaking in the fall," Vaz said.

Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 39 years. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seaside Heights nightclubs to find new life as housing, retail