Seaside Heights Will Modify Plans for Bathhouse Facility After Condo Owners’ Complaints

The proposed location of a bathhouse in Seaside Heights, with the 1515 Ocean condominium building to the right. (Credit: Google Maps)

Seaside Heights officials said this week that they would modify plans for a bathhouse facility on the town’s boardwalk following complaints – and a tacit legal threat – from owners of units in a nearby condominium. The borough council, however, strongly pushed back on complaints from other seasonal residents asking for the project to be scrapped because they do not want tourists attracted to the beaches they use.

A bathhouse existed along the Seaside Heights boardwalk for decades, allowing visitors to take hot showers after the beach – an amenity that would often lead to those on a day trip extending their stay into the evening. Of three bathhouses that once dotted the shoreline in town, one remained near Hiering Avenue before Superstorm Sandy washed it away in 2012. The borough intended to replace the facility quickly, but the cost at the time was beyond the means of the local government. Last year, however, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith delivered a $1.6 million federal grant for the facility to be reconstructed. Initial plans called for a two-story building largely in the footprint of the former bathhouse, with the second floor serving as a handicap-accessible viewing platform with the aim of providing seniors and disabled persons an opportunity to see the ocean. That facet of the plan appears to be scuttled after owners of an oceanfront condominium building next door hired an attorney who expressed that the residents felt the second floor platform would obstruct their view of the ocean.

Other property owners, primarily from other condominium buildings and a few residences on Hiering Avenue, lamented the idea of a bathhouse facility being rebuilt at all, saying it would attract too many tourists and crowd what they described as “their” beach. Some residents also held that beach badges should not be sold at the showers so day-trippers would be forced to walk further down the boardwalk to purchase badges, distributing crowds across several blocks. On that point, officials strongly pushed back, saying the boardwalk and beach is open to the public, and Seaside Heights is a town that is centered on tourism.

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Borough Administrator Christopher Vaz said at a council meeting Wednesday that officials have been working with the project’s architect to redesign the structure with one floor, eliminating the viewing platform. There will also be some minor repositioning of the building on the lot.

“It would be relocated halfway between the boardwalk and Ocean Terrace, and that addresses those particular homeowners’ concerns,” said Vaz.

The repositioning would also allow a small deck area to be constructed so those waiting in line would not have to queue on the boardwalk along with their belongings.

The compromises did not pass muster with all residents, however.

“Why do we need a bathhouse in town?” asked homeowner Delores Alexander. “You’ve got all these beautiful, million-dollar homes going up, and you have enough homeowners and taxpayers in town to frequent the businesses. Why are you catering to a few tourists?”

The question received a frank response from Councilman Robert Triano.

“We have thousands of people who come to our town, spend money, take care of all our businesses – and we need to not only worry about the people who live here full time, we need to worry about the people who come here on day trips and for the weekend,” Triano said. “Some people only get a week’s vacation and they choose to come to Seaside Heights. We’re not like a regular town, we have a lot of people to worry about.”

“You could become that regular town,” Alexander replied. “You’re getting all these beautiful residences coming into town, the tax base has gone up tremendously; you don’t need to cater to these tourists. We can’t get on our beach now.”

Other council members reiterated the borough’s history as a tourist-centric community.

“This town has been a tourist town forever. Come on, you know that,” said Councilman Richard Tompkins. “You have to have facilities for people. When people come here, they want to wash off before they go home, and that is one of the biggest concerns we’ve heard. This is a tourist town, and we have to work together.”

There is also a legal obligation to provide such facilities, said Borough Attorney Robin La Bue.

“Part of the receipt of public funds in order to do the replenishment and build the beach back up was enhancing public access,” she said. “Because the whole point is that the beach is supposed to be open to everyone, not just the people who can afford to live in the town.”

Plans for the bathhouse at 1521 Ocean Terrace, Seaside Heights, NJ. (Planning Document)

The proposed location of a bathhouse in Seaside Heights, with the 1515 Ocean condominium building to the right. (Credit: Google Maps)

Not all residents opposed the bathhouse. Richard Sasso, who heads the borough’s Property Owners Association, said the facility is needed in town because at the moment, there is no accommodations at all for people to shower and change clothes after a day at the beach.

“What I see is people trying to take showers in the bathrooms, trying to take showers in the foot baths, and taking off their bathing suits,” he said. “I was selling raffle tickets for the [Italian-American Club fundraiser] Jeep and I see people taking their bathing suits off and washing up. I see what goes on on that boardwalk.”

“I am the longest, oldest living resident in Seaside Heights, said Alfonso Poane, of Grant Avenue. “We used to have three bathhouses in Seaside Heights. You have to have accommodations for people who come here. We had one on Hiering Avenue for years and we all know Sandy took it out. As long as it’s clean, presentable and smells clean, that’s all you have to worry about.”

Mayor Anthony Vaz requested that borough staff have a rendering and finalized plans for the bathhouse by April, so public comment could be solicited. It is expected construction will begin after the 2025 summer season is over.