By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — The City Council took the next step in the design process for the pier and ferry last week by awarding a contract for the design and architecture work in phase II.
The council passed a resolution during the March 22 meeting, awarding the $2.4 million contract to Tdg-Nj of Boston. Mayor Adam Schneider said Long Branch is progressing in the multi-year pursuit of the pier and ferry.
“We are putting together the team, and now we can spend for the next phase of engineering and planning using the FTA (Federal Transportation Administration) money,” Schneider said. “For the pier to work, for the pier to generate enough funds to be somewhat sustaining, we need to figure out what plans need to be put in place.
“What retail plans, what is the actual design going to have to look like to make it work. Hopefully in the next year or two we are going to be out in the marketplace to see what kind of money we can seriously raise from private and public organizations.”
While the ferry has been criticized publicly, Schneider said it is crucial because it opens up transportation funds to help pay for the project.
“The ferry is essential because otherwise you don’t get FTA funding,” he said. “Presumably what it is going to do is provide access for a fairly easy commute to New York, which is a huge benefit to local residents.
“It is going to enhance property values. Where do I want to live, Queens or Long Branch.”
Schneider said another component of the project will be additional parking, something he said is needed, but too costly without a year-round component.
“The reality is, if there is a pier, there is going to be structured parking,” he said. “We are close to needing structured parking now, but that’s very expensive and it’s got to have enough use year-round.”
Schneider said the pier and ferry should have a domino affect on other developments in the city, including the struggling lower Broadway.
“It’s all pieces to the same puzzle,” Schneider said.
In 2009, the city awarded a contract for the first phase of the design process to New York-based McLaren Engineering Group. Since then, the council has signed off on a preliminary concept design for the pier and a tentative list of amenities that include retail and public spaces, restaurants, a public winter garden, an outdoor amphitheater, entertainment space, a fishing area and a children’s play area.
The high-speed ferry terminal and docking facility would provide a direct route from the Long Branch area to lower Manhattan at a travel time of 40 minutes. The pier would contain a docking system, and the ticketing and waiting areas required for the ferry operation.
The design includes about 77,000 square feet of commercial space, including a 20,000-square-foot club that could host concerts year-round and a 10,000-square-foot wedding venue.
Many of the contracts awarded for the design work have been funded using grants secured by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-Monmouth, Middlesex).
An amusement pier had been a fixture of the Long Branch beachfront for decades and was the site of the popular Haunted Mansion and a children’s amusement park. The pier was destroyed in a June 1987 fire. The remnants continued to deteriorate until 2001, when the pier was demolished.