“Hey, you clean up nice!”
A day at the beach can turn into a night on the town with the help of a modern, hot shower system built in a pavilion off the boardwalk – and after about eight months of waiting, Seaside Heights officials learned Friday that a federal grant would cover a $1.6 million project to return a bath house and those hot showers to the borough.
The Hiering Avenue parking facility, where a shower and changing facility has been proposed, Aug. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
Seaside Heights officials first discussed what was considered something of a long-shot grant opportunity over the summer. The funding was aimed at purchasing hot showers and changing rooms that are automatically cleaned and sanitized after use, and could be the solution to complaints from both residents and day-trippers to the borough.
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4) confirmed the grant funding had been secured for Seaside Heights on Friday.
“Over the past decade, Seaside Heights has bounced back with tremendous strength and unbelievable resilience from the absolute devastation wrought by Superstorm Sandy and the subsequent South End Boardwalk Fire — but one glaring ruin, the Heiring Avenue Bath House, has yet to be rebuilt,” said Smith, who personally secured the funds for the project as one of his congressional earmarks that were signed into law on Saturday as part of a negotiated budget.
The borough operated showers and changing rooms off the beach until Superstorm Sandy washed away an older facility. That facility sometimes drew complaints over cleanliness, but was particularly old and not built to modern standards.
“The old bath house was built in the 1920s,” said Councilman Harry Smith at the time. “The number one thing we hear about today are bathrooms and changing rooms.”
The pavilion is planned to be built off Hiering Avenue in the northernmost section of town, on a portion of the large municipal parking lot that currently exists there. The facilities are expected to resemble those found more commonly in Europe and other world cities, where an attendant would authorize access to a customer, then press a button that automatically cleans and sanitizes the facility after use.
“This is great news for Seaside Heights and even greater news for our visitors,” said Mayor Anthony Vaz. “The bath house building was destroyed during Superstorm Sandy and we haven’t been able to fund a replacement structure. These funds are critical to moving forward with our post-Sandy and post-Boardwalk fire economic development.”
The funding has helped solidify the relationship between the borough and Smith, who is representing the town for the first time in many years thanks to congressional redistricting.
“From the moment Seaside Heights was added to my congressional district, Mayor Tony Vaz was a strong and prepared advocate for this project, and I thank him for his insights and drive to help make this a reality,” Smith said.
Smith said the project has overwhelming local support, including from the Seaside Heights Business Improvement District —which represents many businesses within the community and is a partner on the project — as well as the Seaside Heights Property Owners Association and local, county, and state officials.
The Hiering Avenue parking facility, where a shower and changing facility has been proposed, Aug. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
The Hiering Avenue parking facility, where a shower and changing facility has been proposed, March 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)
The bath house will also solve an ongoing concern for both residents and tourists alike.
“We’ve had an outcry from the public that they have nowhere to shower or to change, and at the same time we get complaints from people in town who are concerned about people changing in the streets,” Vaz said. “We need it. We need clean bathrooms.”
Council members agreed that a lack of shower facilities and changing rooms has driven a plethora of complaints from both sides, and they are more common than many realize. A clean, modern facility would also be a potential boon to the business community, officials said, since day-trippers to the borough would have an opportunity to wash up after the beach and change into nicer clothes to spend the evening in town.
“We can’t forget that we’re a tourism town,” said Vaz. “We’re not Seaside Park and we’re not Lavallette. We’re a business-oriented community, and we derive funding from these businesses. We want nice families to come here, and they do need a place to change.”
The Hiering Avenue parking facility, where a shower and changing facility has been proposed, March 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)
Seaside Heights already owns the land on which the pavilion would be constructed. It is currently operated as a parking facility with a surface of gravel and hard-packed sand, and is leased to a private operator who manages it under the supervision of the borough.
“This revitalization project, which is expected to have a significant impact on the local economy, will reinvigorate oceanfront businesses and local merchants and provide greatly needed economic support to this classic American Boardwalk’s post-pandemic economic renaissance,” said Smith.
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