Greetings From Asbury Park

Asbury Partners LLC, the city-appointed master developer of Oceanfront Asbury, has retained SOSH Architects of Atlantic City and New York City, to design the retail portion of Oceanfront Asbury, the 56-acre, $1.2 billion seaside redevelopment of Asbury Park, N.J.

The retail component of the project will involve 450,000 sq. ft. SOSH has been entrusted to provide a unified look and feel for the eight pavilions that will be renovated along Asbury Park's 60-ft. wide, 1-mi.-long boardwalk. Two distinctive historical buildings anchor the boardwalk at either end - the Convention Hall/Paramount Theater Building at the north end and the Casino Building to the south. In addition to the renovated pavilions, the retail project will also involve the design of storefronts for new buildings that will be constructed along Ocean Avenue.

Oceanfront Asbury will eventually also include the construction of 2,500 new housing units and the replacement of 500 older units.

SOSH specializes in designing hospitality, entertainment, retail and gaming facilities. Among its previous projects are The Quarter at Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City, Disney ESPN Zone in New York City and the 29 Palms Casino Resort in Palm Springs, Ca.

Revising History

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved design plans by Richard Cook & Associates, Architects for eleven early 19th century brick warehouses which line both sides of Front Street adjacent to the South Street Seaport.

The approval means that Yarrow LLC, which is made up of Zuberry Associates and Sciame Development Inc., can begin work on restoration of the buildings, which are in various stages of decline; the façade of one building collapsed last year.

In addition to the buildings, the design incorporates three vacant lots currently owned by New York City and managed by the Economic Development Corp. The 148,000-sq.-ft. project will therefore be a mix of approximately 81,000 sq. ft. of renovation and 67,000 sq. ft. of new construction. At the street level the old warehouses will become retail space, while 100 new loft-style apartments will be built on the upper floors.

Redesigned Millennium

Nineteen months after it was forced to close by the destruction of the World Trade Center across the street, the 385,466-sq.-ft. Millennium Hilton Hotel at 55 Church Street reopened in May with a newly designed entrance, lobby and guest rooms. The redesign was done by a team consisting of Stonehill & Taylor, Brennan Beer Gorman Monk/Interiors and Arnold Syrop Associates.

The new entrance to the luxury hotel, designed by Stonehill & Taylor, now features a raised black granite platform with wide steps leading up to a new canopy which overhangs a stainless steel motorized revolving door and a stone clad ramp for improved handicapped access.

The lobby, redesigned by BBGM, now includes a lounge and bar areas. BBGM's design enabled 40 additional rooms to be upgraded to include king-sized beds, and all 565 guest rooms now feature 42-in. plasma screen televisions, CD players and cordless phones. The Church and Dey, a new 133-seat restaurant was designed by Arnold Syrop.

The renovation of the Millennium, which originally opened in 1992, cost $31 million.

Keeping It Clean

Schoor DePlama Inc., with offices in Manalapan and Parsippany, N.J., was awarded a contract by the Lambertville (N.J.) Sewerage Authority to perform design and construction management to improve their 1.5 MGD sewerage treatment plant. The City of Lambertville created the Authority with the Borough of Stockton and Bucks County Water Supply.

Schoor DePlama will design and oversee construction on headwork improvements, digester tank improvements, pump station upgrades and replacement of the filter press. Schoor DePalma assisted the Authority in securing full, low-interest loans through the New Jersey Infrastructure Trust