By Dana Fiori
New Jersey is known for its stunning beaches and welcomes millions of tourists each year. However, even though the coast of the Garden State has over 40 beach towns, not all of them were quite what they are today. New Jersey has experienced many revitalization efforts to restore some of the most historic beach towns the state has to offer. Here are some of the most impressive revitalizations to date.
Long Branch
People from New York, Pennsylvania and everywhere in between flock to Long Branch when the weather begins to warm up. This beach town offers the impressive Pier Village—filled with shops and five-star restaurants, and it is also close to Monmouth University, making it a prime destination for college students.
Before Long Branch was the trendy spot it is today; it had undergone traumatic times. In 1987 the boardwalk caught on fire leaving behind ashes and a deserted town. The fire also resulted in a diminished population and escalated crime rates. In 1994 Adam Schnieder became mayor of Long Branch. After his election, the city launched the Long Branch Redevelopment Plan. Since the redevelopment took place, Long Branch has flourished, and in 2015 beach badge sales went from $300,000 to two million dollars. The one billion dollar revival has brought down crime rates and rose the median sales prices of homes in Long Branch Township and in Long Branch City.
Asbury Park
Asbury Park is known for its stunning Victorian-style homes, art influence, and is the location where Bruce Springsteen and many other famous musicians kick-started their The Stone Pony is where the legendary New Jersey native, Bruce Springstein, first became a household name.
In 2009 the revitalization of Asbury began when iStar Financial, a New York-based real estate investment firm, took control of the redevelopment plan. iStar opened two high-end condos, plus Asbury’s newest hotel in 50 years. Because of this new development home prices in Asbury rose more than 29 percent. Over one million people visited the 1.5 square mile town in 2016 according to NY Eater, and in 2017 it was named “America’s Coolest Town” by Budget Travel. With tons of restaurants, historic music venues, and a fun atmosphere, it’s no wonder this beach town has come such a long way.
Atlantic City
Known for its multitude of casinos, restaurants, and being home to the longest boardwalk in the world, it’s hard to believe this thriving and bustling city ever saw hard times. However, the city that came to life in 1854 by Atlantic and Camden Railroad Company began to diminish 75 years later.
The leisure travel that made Atlantic City prosper experienced a significant downfall when the Great Depression hit the country. In 1935 Mayor Charles White outlined a master plan that would bring the city back to life. This plan included amusement parks, a section of the beach reserved with cabanas for the wealthy, and a gambling casino and racetrack. Unfortunately, White’s ideas were never carried out, and over the next decade, unemployment spiked, hotels closed, and investments were lost. It wasn’t until 1976 when New Jersey legalized casinos in Atlantic City that anything changed. Just two years later the city reinvented itself as the casino capital of the east coast. 2006 brought more hard times when Pennsylvania introduced casino gambling which significantly brought down traffic for Atlantic City. Between 2013 and 2016 five of the twelve casinos shut down.
Hoping to bring the city back to its feet, two new high-end casinos opened in 2018, The Hard Rock Hotel and Resort and the Ocean Resort Casino. Both casinos are hopeful their efforts to bring life back into the city will be successful and will once again reinvent the city.
Cape May
Developed as a resort for families in 1766, Cape May is the most historic beach town in the Garden State. However, a little over 100 years later, a massive fire in 1878 destroyed 35 acres of the flourishing city. Cape May was rebuilt to a smaller scale and built homes with a Gothic and Victorian flare.
The city struggled to compete with bigger cities like Newport, Rhode Island, and Atlantic City. Even though these other family resorts were miles away, they still took away the business and traffic Cape May once received. Even worse than a loss of tourists was the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 which destroyed the boardwalk, beachfront, City Hall, and many residential and commercial properties. One year after the devastation, the city applied for and received the first Urban Renewal Grant given to a small city specifically for preservation in the amount of $3.5 million. Since then, the boardwalk and promenade have been restored, and ferry service has opened. The city still has ongoing beach restoration projects in the works ever since Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012.