(15/P22) TRENTON – The Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program has purchased the site of the Anchorage Apartments, a condominium complex along the Shrewsbury River in Sea Bright ravaged by Superstorm Sandy, and will preserve the parcel as a public waterfront park, Commissioner Bob Martin announced today.

One of the most iconic remnants of the destructive power of Sandy in this Monmouth County town, the storm-ravaged complex was razed in January. The state purchased the one-acre property for $3.5 million, with the closing taking place today. The borough will develop the parcel as a passive park.

The land was purchased at market value from 960 Ocean Avenue LLC. 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. The closing took place last Wednesday.

“The Christie Administration is committed to Sandy recovery, open space and providing public access to our beaches and waterways,” Commissioner Martin said. “I commend Mayor Dina Long, the City of Sea Bright and the National Park Service for working in partnership with us to make this preservation opportunity a reality. Not only have we removed people from harm’s way, the property will become a park providing waterfront access to the Shrewsbury River for fishing, walking, or simply soaking in views of the river – and is located directly across from state-owned oceanfront beaches.”

“I thank Commissioner 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,” said Mayor Long.
 
The land, located along Ocean Avenue north of the Sea Bright Bridge, will become state property managed in partnership with Sea Bright as a local park.  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 Christie Administration is working closely with helping Sea Bright recover from Sandy, including providing $8.5 million to construct a portion of a new sea wall and repair an adjacent section of damaged sea wall that is vital to protecting the downtown area.

After Sandy, the state worked closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a massive undertaking to repair beaches, including $345 million in post-storm beach repair and restoration projects in Monmouth County, including Sea Bright.

Green Acres was created in 1961 to meet New Jersey's growing recreation and conservation needs.  Together with public and private partners, Green Acres has protected over 650,000 acres of open space and provided hundreds of outdoor recreational facilities in communities around the State.  The total acreage of protected open space across the State now exceeds 1.4 million acres.

In addition to providing recreational opportunities, Green Acres projects help protect water quality and stimulate economic development by creating jobs, at the same time making cities and towns more attractive places to live and work.

For more information on the DEP’s Green Acres Program, visit:
http://www.nj.gov/dep/greenacres/

For more information on the state’s Sandy recovery efforts, please visit: http://nj.gov/gorr/
and https://dep.nj.gov/hurricane-sandy/