Abandoned Private Island ‘Mansion’ in Barnegat Bay Poised for Demolition

The immense, 4,866 square-foot home on Middle Sedge Island in Barnegat Bay, which at one point was being offered for sale for more than $8 million, will be torn down after years of court battles and deterioration following severe damage sustained during Superstorm Sandy, with some equipment already having been transported to the island in an apparent effort to stage the tear-down.

The unique home, built on a sedge island in Barnegat Bay that is also known by some as Hankins Island, is located off the Chadwick Beach neighborhood in Toms River’s North Beach portion. Since it was built in 1991 to replace a smaller home that had belonged to its previous owner, noted lifeboat builder Charles Hankins, the ultra-luxurious house became an object of fascination by boaters and visitors to the Jersey Shore who often wondered about the story behind a mansion secluded on 14 acres in an otherwise-uninhabited chunk of land in the middle of the vast bay.

The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

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Since Superstorm Sandy struck in 2012, the home has never been occupied, having suffered severe damage. It was the source of more than a decade of federal litigation between its owner and an insurance carrier, and a separate bankruptcy case. A flood of foreclosure notices, deed transfers and other legal instruments are attached to the property, according to a check of public records filed with the Ocean County Clerk’s office. After the island was sold in 1991 to Anthony and Joann Dellechiaie, who built the current home there, records show, it eventually – in 2005 – landed in the hands of an entity known as Zero Barnegat Bay LLC, which state treasury records show is owned by Robert Lyon, of Towaco, N.J. A call to a phone number listed for Lyon was not returned.

Today, aerial footage shows, the home is in severe structural disrepair. Birds fly in and out of non-existent windows and gaping holes in the structure. Pieces of the roof are torn off, several docks have been destroyed, the bulkhead around the property has failed and what was once a large pool has seemingly been separated from the ground. The building is also virtually covered in bird droppings, and at times has been the victim of trespassers who spray-painted graffiti on portions of the property. A source said, at one point, it was believed squatters had briefly occupied the island.

Toms River Township, which has jurisdiction over the spit of land, issued at least two violation notices to the property owner, an article published in the Toms River Times newspaper said in 2022, however on both occasions the owner corrected the violations as ordered, avoiding fines for the graffiti and complying with the township’s request to place “no trespassing” signage at various locations. In the same article, the township’s former engineer, Robert Chankalian, said the cost to demolish the structure would be “astronomical” given the process of staging equipment and carrying out a demolition at a location only accessible by boat.

More than 11 years after Sandy unleashed its wrath upon the captivating oasis in the middle of the bay, a demolition plan was filed with Toms River Township on March 3, 2024, according to records obtained by Shorebeat. A plan review failed, but was resubmitted, reviewed a second time, with the permit finally being considered formally opened and issued as of April 11. In the weeks since, at least one excavator has been deployed to the island, sparking rumors that demolition was imminent.

The owner of the property, not the township, is behind the demolition. To date, according to township records, there have been no plans filed that indicate what the future of the island may look like, or whether a new home would be built there.

The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

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The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Electric, gas and water-sewer utilities all run to the island, having supplanted a diesel generator which served as the source of power for the original home on the island, which was moved by barge to a new location after the property was sold in the 1990s.

Mayor Dan Rodrick said he did not know what the owner of the island was planning, however he would not oppose a new home being built there if the owner wished to do so.

“I’m a free market capitalist,” he said. “If someone wants to tear it down, have at it. If someone wants to rebuild it, I’m okay with that too.”

The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The permit application lists construction costs estimated at $30,000, with a $90 permit fee having been paid to the township. The home is no longer listed for sale – it had technically been on the market for years without a new owner having been found – but property taxes have been dutifully paid each quarter. According to county tax records, the property is valued at $1,452,600, generating a property tax bill of $25,144 last year. The bulk of the value of the property – slightly under $1 million – represents the land itself, while the home is listed as being worth about $400,000. When it was first listed for sale in 2008, the asking price was $8.5 million.

While the home is built on one particular swath of land at its northeast corner, the entire Middle Sedge Island spans 14.6 acres, according to the county’s property records. After foreclosure proceedings began, the home was re-marketed for $6.5 million, with since-deleted digital advertising noting that the property featured its own licensed helipad, heated pool and guest house, among other amenities such as an outdoor kitchen and expansive recreation space indoors and out.

The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The home on Middle Sedge Island, Barnegat Bay, Toms River, N.J., May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

While the island will remain, and its future is uncertain, the fate of the “house in the middle of the bay” appears to be sealed for now.