Seaside Heights Finalizes Deal With Hovnanian For 24-Unit, $16.7M Townhome Community

A 24-unit townhome community proposed in Seaside Heights by builder K. Hovnanian. View from Lincoln Avenue. (Courtesy: Mike Loundy)

Seaside Heights officials this week approved two measures that represent one of the final approvals before construction of a 24-unit townhome community by renowned builder K. Hovnanian can get underway.

“The Views at Seaside Heights” received unanimous support from the planning board at meeting over the summer, paving the way for construction on the uniquely-styled subdivision along the Boulevard between Lincoln and Dupont avenues. The parcel was once the home of the Offshore Motel, a troubled property that was demolished after surrendering its license to operate after the land was declared an area in need of redevelopment.

The two resolutions passed, likewise unanimously, by the council this week appointed Hovnanian as the designated redeveloper of the site, and finalized a tax abatement agreement that is required under state law for redevelopment projects.

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“K. Hovnanian is the contract purchaser of the Offshore property, and this formally designates them as the redeveloper of the property,” said Borough Administrator Christopher Vaz. “This will give the developer a long-term, 15-year tax abatement on the property. The borough still gets money, and we actually do quite well under the arrangement.”

According to a copy of the agreement obtained by Shorebeat, current real estate taxes generate revenue of approximately $79,334 annually at the site. The agreement, known as a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) will generate approximately $195,264 in the first stabilized year.

A 24-unit townhome community proposed in Seaside Heights by builder K. Hovnanian. View from the Boulevard. (Courtesy: Mike Loundy)

The value of the Hovnanian’s investment will be about $16.7 million, and will generate 88 construction jobs and numerous permanent jobs once completed. The first full year of the agreement will generate $213,920 for the borough, which will escalate as the value of the property grows and the rate draws closer to the conventional tax rate. The first five years are based on 60 percent of conventional tax revenue, increasing to 70 percent for the next five years and 80 percent for the final five years, or $423,395. The owners of the units will pay a collective $4,537,607 over the 15-year period.

“The townhomes will be situated in three buildings,” said Scott Turner, the project’s engineer, at the time of planning approval. “We have a ten unit building along Lincoln Avenue, we have a seven-unit building in the center of the property, and the third building is along Dupont Avenue and will also be a seven-unit building.”

The townhomes will be offered as fee-simple residential units, governed by a small homeowners’ association that will maintain the outdoor areas. Each unit will have its own deeded block and lot, with one additional lot saved for access driveways and decorative landscaping as well as three guest spaces, Turner said. Green space is a major aspect of the project, which will reduce the impervious coverage of the lot from 98 percent (during the motel’s existence) to 84 percent. The surfaces inside the development will be porous to filter stormwater, and each unit will have a tandem, two-car garage with an electric vehicle charging station.

A 24-unit townhome community proposed in Seaside Heights by builder K. Hovnanian. View from the corner of Lincoln Avenue and the Boulevard. (Courtesy: Mike Loundy)

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The developer will create two new driveways along the Boulevard to allow entrance and egress from the property, with the driveways 24-feet wide and made of porous paving.

Aesthetically, Hovnanian will be adding flora to the site and rebuilding curbs and drive aisles that are reflective of the borough’s redevelopment plans as well as the county’s design of the Boulevard business district’s sidewalks. There will be concrete curb and sidewalks installed along the side streets and granite-block curbing along the Boulevard, Turner said.

Altogether, Hovnanian will plant 48 trees, 130 shrubs and a buffer between the complex and its residential neighbors.

Offshore Motel, Seaside Heights, N.J., Sept. 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

The demolition of the former Offshore Motel, March 2024. (Photo: Mike Loundy)

The former Offshore Motel was the 20th motel to be demolished in Seaside Heights as land values have grown and the borough looks to attract a more family-oriented clientele. The long-troubled property was first subject to having its license to operate revoked in 2021 following the murder of a woman by an acquaintance who has since been sentenced to 35 years in state prison. The motel had also been in the news after a man was hospitalized after jumping from a window there, and had drawn countless nuisance complaints over the years.