Ortley Beach’s berm area at a reduced width for summer 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick confirmed this week that bids were nearly ready to be solicited for an expansion of the Ortley Beach boardwalk that will connect the two existing portions and combine them into one.
“There’s a plan and it was done by T&M,” Rodrick said at a township council meeting Wednesday, referencing the engineering firm that designed the specifications. “We got a grant for the plan. We’re going to be putting it out to bid soon, and at some future council meeting you’ll be voting on awarding it.”
The township has received $1 million from the state’s Boardwalk Preservation Fund for the work; initial, rough estimates were that the total cost of the project could be about $3 million.
The site of a future pollinator garden along the oceanfront in Ortley Beach, May 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
After the meeting, Rodrick confirmed to Shorebeat that the plans call for “one continuous boardwalk” that will close a gap that currently exists between an existing northern and southern portion. The gap mainly occurs where the former Joey Harrison’s Surf Club used to stand, however that property was acquired through a complex deal that involved a land swap with the county, local funding, and funding from the state’s Blue Acres program. State officials, due to the Blue Acres designation, retain jurisdiction over what can be constructed along the property, but Toms River is responsible for any development and maintenance costs beyond what state grant funding provides.
Under a permit already issued by the state, approval has been granted to connect the boardwalk, where it will pass by two additional private properties – a condominium development located next to the former nightclub property and the Golden Gull, a single building constructed on the oceanfront.
Rodrick has previously said that, ideally, the new boardwalk would include additional dune crossovers for public beach access and restrooms and showers. There was no discussion of any large buildings or recreational facilities – an idea that had been floated in previous years but received pushback from the state, which normally does not permit any construction in Blue Acres zones.
The former Joey Harrison’s Surf Club parking area and beachfront parcel, Ortley Beach, Toms River, N.J. (Photo: Shorebeat)
The Surf Club deal also conveyed to the township a parking lot that was situated along the Oceanfront street between 6th and 7th avenues. Though the state has given permission for the parking lot area to be paved, Rodrick said the future of that portion of the property is to be determined.
“There are no plans for that piece of property, but I’m certainly open to suggestions if you have ideas,” he told those at the meeting Wednesday.
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