A redevelopment plan for the former Bamboo Bar site, Seaside Heights, N.J., Jan. 2025. (Credit: Shorebeat/Planning Document)
Months after having been investigated by the borough’s planning board, the Seaside Heights borough council has introduced an ordinance that, when adopted, will form a redevelopment plan for the former Bamboo Bar nightclub property on the Boulevard.
While progress is well-underway on a high-end, mixed use complex at the site of its once sister-establishment, Karma, the Bamboo site has languished under a different owner. Officials have previously signaled frustration at the pace of redevelopment, and with the ordinance will empower the town to select a redeveloper, negotiate a formal agreement, require proof of financial wherewithal to complete the project, and set forth specifications for redevelopment. The current owner of the site will be eligible to be that redeveloper, but will be required to follow the plan adopted by the council.
The parcel was sold for $1,058,000, according to county tax records, and the vacant lot is currently assessed at $1,115,600. It is currently owned by TKD Holdings, which is being represented by one of the principals of the company, Rudy Daunno III, who is acting as broker. TKD has previous said it intends to build a 48-unit mixed-use complex known as “The Lofts at Bamboo.”
What Will Go There?
A redevelopment plan for the former Bamboo Bar site, Seaside Heights, N.J., Jan. 2025. (Credit: Planning Document)
According to a copy of the redevelopment plan obtained by Shorebeat, the project – as required under the ordinance – will consist of a six-story mixed use development, which will feature “active ground floor retail sales and fitness uses facing Boulevard, accessory ground floor parking facilities, and upper floor multi-family residential apartments.”
The building would be limited to six stories and 67-feet in height, with the sixth story limited to an internally-connected upper level of a fifth floor residential unit, mechanical rooms, screened mechanical equipment, elevator and stair bulkheads and a community room.
The development “shall be oriented towards Boulevard,” the plan states, with pedestrian access to the residential lobby serving as the primary entrance to the multi-family component of the development. The upper floor residential component will be stepped back from the corner of the Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue, where a residential amenity deck and pool will be built, overlooking the Boulevard street frontage.
The fifth floor will also include a community room for the residents of the development, which will also be oriented toward or overlooking the Boulevard.
A redevelopment plan for the former Bamboo Bar site, Seaside Heights, N.J., Jan. 2025. (Credit: Planning Document)
Accessible from the Boulevard, the redevelopment plan allows for retail uses, restaurants and cafes, art galleries, or health and fitness facilities on the ground floor. The primary pedestrian entrance to the multifamily use and the lobby area would also be located along the Boulevard, and no parking areas would be permitted within 50-feet of the property line along the Boulevard. Likewise, no vehicular access or curb cuts to accessory parking facilities would be permitted along Boulevard.
Side streets will also be part of the redevelopment plan.
“Appropriate streetscape elements should also be provided to provide an inviting pedestrian environment along Franklin Avenue,” the plan states.
Along Lincoln Avenue, the first 20 feet of frontage extending west from Boulevard would be occupied by commercial space. One vehicular entrance to any enclosed parking garage will be permitted along Lincoln Avenue (if located at least 50 feet from the Boulevard property line). All parking areas must be enclosed and screened, and any portions of the ground floor along Lincoln Avenue that screen enclosed parking areas must incorporate graphic or sculptural art, decorative screening or latticework, living plant material or similar measures to “create visual interest and avoid the appearance of a long uninterrupted blank wall.”
Curb Appeal
The former Bamboo Bar property in Seaside Heights, N.J., Dec. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The eventual development will also have to comply with the plan’s aesthetic and functional requirements, given its location in the central business district.
The project “shall provide new, or improve existing, public sidewalks along all adjacent public streets,” the plan requires. Street furnishings and landscaping must be provided along all frontages to “soften the sidewalk environment and enhance the pedestrian experience.” A streetscape plan will be presented to the borough for review before approval. Street furniture, such as benches, bike racks, and public art, are encouraged along the streetscape and at convenient locations, as long as they do not impede pedestrian or vehicular circulation. Appropriate streetscape elements will be extended along both Lincoln Avenue and Franklin Avenue to “encourage an engaging pedestrian environment that continues the pedestrian experience from Boulevard.”
Next Steps
Demolition of the Bamboo nightclub in Seaside Heights continues, Nov. 3, 2021. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The former Bamboo Bar property in Seaside Heights, N.J., Dec. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The borough council will hold a public hearing and second vote on the introduced redevelopment plan, then solicit proposals from redevelopers, which will likely include the property’s current owner. The ordinance does, however, maintain the ability for the borough to utilize eminent domain to take the property if the plan is violated or if construction does not begin after permits are issued.
Once a redeveloper is designated by the Borough Council, that party will be required to enter into a redevelopment agreement with the borough that stipulates the precise nature and extent of the improvements to be made, and their timing and phasing as permitted. The redeveloper could also negotiate incentives such as future tax abatements.
The council will next meet on Feb. 5, where it is expected the plan will be scheduled for a second vote and final adoption.
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