Seaside Heights & Seaside Park

Vacant Seaside Park Apartment Complex Meets the Wrecking Ball

by
Daniel Nee
April 7, 2023

Demolition began Thursday at a Seaside Park apartment complex that had fallen into disrepair and eventually came under borough ownership.

The Park Central apartment complex, located at 215 SW Central Avenue, between 3rd and 2nd avenues, met its long-awaited fait this week as a demolition crew from Frank Galbraith & Sons, a construction firm based in Scotch Plains, N.J., began tearing down the structure. The borough council re-awarded the contract to the demolition company last week following a paperwork error following an approval in January.

The Park Central apartment Complex in Seaside Park, N.J., is demolished. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The Park Central apartment complex on SW Central Avenue, Seaside Park, N.J., Jan. 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The crew made quick work of the multi-unit complex, which took up an entire block along Central Avenue atop a 140-by-100 feet parcel, 14,000 square feet total, which is located within the borough’s business zone. It came under borough ownership after deteriorating for years. One supervisor of the construction crew said the company planned to complete the job shortly and would have the lot neat and clean in short order.

In February, the building served one last bit a usefulness, having been utilized by local fire departments twice in a week during rescue drills that trained firefighters on how to respond to calls at multi-family apartment buildings.

The Park Central apartment Complex in Seaside Park, N.J., is demolished. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The Park Central apartment complex on SW Central Avenue, Seaside Park, N.J., Jan. 2023. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Seaside Park’s municipal council, along with its planning board, is continuing to discuss potential redevelopment opportunities for several properties in town, including Park Central. A redevelopment plan is expected to develop over the course of the year. Some residents have favored turning the property into a public park, while others have advocated for it to be placed for sale so it can return to the tax rolls as private property.