The state has acquired a 1-acre site on Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright that is slated to become a waterfront park.
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bob Martin announced March 9 that the agency’s Green Acres program purchased the site of the former Anchorage Apartments on Ocean Avenue.
The apartment complex, which was heavily damaged by superstorm Sandy, was razed in January. “The deal is finally closed,” Mayor Dina Long said at the Borough Council’s workshop meeting on March 12.
The Green Acres program used $1.75 million of its own funding, coupled with a $1.75 million National Park Service Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, to purchase the property at market value from 960 Ocean Avenue LLC.
“The Christie administration is committed to Sandy recovery, open space and providing public access to our beaches and waterways,” Martin said.
“I commend Mayor Dina Long, the borough of Sea Bright and the National Park Service for working in partnership with us to make this preservation opportunity a reality.”
Martin said the property will become a park, providing waterfront access to the Shrewsbury River for fishing, walking or simply taking in views of the river. It is located directly across from state-owned oceanfront beaches.
Long thanked Martin and the DEP for their “commitment to Sea Bright’s preservation and for their foresight in working cooperatively with us and the private landowner to create open space and public access to the Shrewsbury River in an environmentally sensitive area.”
The land, located along Ocean Avenue and north of the Sea Bright bridge, will become state property managed in partnership with Sea Bright.
The property will be assigned to the Division of Parks and Forestry’s Leonardo State Marina for management purposes, but the daily operation of the park will be handled by the borough.
Sea Bright is currently working on a park design to accommodate waterfront access and provide amenities that work best for the community.
The site is now vacant. Long said a splitrail fence will be installed by the borough’s Public Works Department to provide a barrier in order to ensure safety of the area before work starts on the park.
The mayor added that the county would also seed the lot before work begins.