BRADLEY BEACH — Signs posted throughout town called for the Bradley Beach borough council to “Keep The Promise, Sell The Church,” and in a 4-0-1 vote, the council voted to do just that, passing a resolution to authorize the sale of the 317-319 LaReine Ave. property at their June 26 meeting.
According to the resolution, bidders are required to submit bids under two options: option A and option B.
The minimum bid price under both options for the property is $3,500,000. The property will be sold to the highest bidder in an open public auction conducted by Borough Attorney Greg Cannon on July 25 at 2 p.m. at the Bradley Beach Borough Hall.
State statute requires the borough to list two options for sale. Option A lists a series of deed restrictions and conditions for the purchaser, while option B is free of restrictions or conditions on the part of the municipality.
According to the resolution, option A “shall be for the real property, capital improvement or personal property subject to the conditions or restrictions imposed, or interest or estate retained, which the county or municipality proposes to retain or impose.”
If sold under option A, all existing structures and improvements would be demolished and subdivided into four market-rate, single-family building lots in accordance with an April 13, 2023 major subdivision (plan), according to the resolution. Under option A, the property would be sold “as is,” meaning the borough would not be responsible for potential demolition of the site. Additionally under A, the borough would not pay a broker’s fee in connection to the sale and the successful bidder would be responsible for all cleanup of any “environmental contamination.”
Under option A, the resolution lists a series of deed restrictions subject to the property including: “The property may not be used or developed for any purpose for which property tax exemption may be granted. The property may only be used for single-family residential dwelling purposes with lawful accessory structures. The purchaser shall release and forever discharge any right or ability to file a builder’s remedy lawsuit against the Borough pertaining to the subject property.”
Option B stipulates that the sale will be “for the real property, capital improvement or personal property to be sold free of all such restrictions, conditions, interests or estates on the part of the county or municipality.”
If sold under option B, the property would be “free of all such restrictions, conditions, interests or estates on the part of the…municipality, except existing applicable regulatory, land use, zoning and other restrictions,” according to the resolution.
According to Council President Jane DeNoble, by state statute there must be two options for sale. The resolution states, “the Borough reserves the right to reject all bids where the highest bid is not accepted.”
The 24,000 square foot property, known as Lot 41, Block 1 on the borough’s tax map can be physically inspected Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. by appointment only prior to the day of the auction sale. Appointments to schedule an inspection can be arranged by contacting the borough office at 732-776-2999 ext. 1029.
“This begins the final process of the disposition of the site… We will press for a September, October closing on the property. Thanks for your patience. This was a long process, but the appropriate due diligence was performed, the right amount of resident feedback acquired, and now we are progressing,” said Mayor Larry Fox in his newsletter.
The resolution was approved by the council in a 4-0-1 vote, with Councilman John Weber abstaining as he resides near the property in question.
ARTIFACT PRESERVATION
Throughout the saga of deciding what to do with the property, the preservation of over 40 historical artifacts has been a primary concern of residents. Previously, Mayor Fox told The Coast Star, the borough has an expert broker who is managing the preservation of the more than 40 historical artifacts located within the former United Methodist church.
Within church walls there are several historical artifacts that have been preserved including stained glass windows, a church bell, a pipe organ and pews.
In addition to the aforementioned conditions, option A states, “Certain historical artifacts, as set forth in the bid package, are excluded from the sale of the property, and the purchaser shall permit the removal of such artifacts prior to demolition of the structures upon the property.”
Once a buyer purchases the property, the artifacts within the church will be separately removed after the sale and are excluded from the sale of the property. The listed historical items will be either donated or sold at auction at a later date, according to DeNoble.
PROPERTY HISTORY
In 2020, the Borough of Bradley Beach purchased the property from the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. According to borough records, Bradley Beach founder James Bradley donated the land to the First United Methodist Church in 1886, the current structure that sits at 319 LaReine Ave. was built in 1900.
In 2015, the First United Methodist Church discontinued services and in 2019, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association informed the borough of Bradley Beach it would sell the 319 LaReine Ave. property with the right of first refusal, which gave purchase priority to the borough with the hope of preservation. The council then voted to purchase the property for $1.3 million on March 27, 2020.
Since the borough purchased the site, residents and members of the council have been at odds in determining the future of the property. A town-wide referendum on the November 2022 election ballot proposed the idea of turning the existing church structure into a community center for the highly contested price of $10,000,000. Overwhelmingly, 76.7% of residents voted against the $10 million renovation of the church property.
Members of the Bradley Beach community, notably president of the borough’s historical society Paul Neshamkin, have made several attempts to save the historic building since purchasing the property in 2020. An online petition titled “Save Bradley Beach’s Historical Church” garnered upward of 800 signatures in an effort to preserve the property. Even an organized non-profit organization, Friends of the Bradley Beach Community Center, sought grant money and raised awareness about the history and significance of the church. However, the results of the referendum were not in favor of the renovation of the church and the council ultimately moved forward with selling the vacant property.
“You could have done wonderful things with this property with grant money, with donations. The negativity from certain members of this governing body has been very disappointing. We are destroying something which we’ll never be able to replace. Bradley Beach will never have a wonderful concert space, meeting space, banquet space. There’s no way you’re ever going to be able to afford it. You would have been able to afford it with this property. We’re losing it, and I think that’s a tragedy,” Neshamkin told the council on June 26.
In 2024, 148 years after the construction of the First United Methodist Church the council approved a resolution that is one step closer to determining the fate of the highly contested church property.
This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Coast Star —on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
Check out our other Bradley Beach stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Coast Star —on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition .
Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Coast Star , get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.
Most Popular
Comments / 0