Boardwalk empire: a new development seeks to preserve Asbury Park's creative spirit

For years, Asbury Park, down the New Jersey shore, has mostly been known as one
thing: a pre-eminent music destination for legendary bands. Be it the Ramones, The Clash, Bon Jovi or, most notably, Bruce Springsteen (whose debut album is titled Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ), many bastions of rock culture have played here since the 1960s. With its soulful seaside boardwalk, vibrant nightlife, Jazz Age heritage and 1920s architecture peppering its periphery, the city was a picture-perfect piece of good ol’ Americana – that is, until the late 1970s.
By 1984, Asbury Park had been in a long decline. Grab-happy developers bought huge chunks of land designated for redevelopment but were then stalled by economic recession, leaving areas untouched for almost 30 years. In 2009, the real estate firm iStar acquired a huge proportion of the city, thanks to developers defaulting on loans it had given, providing a rare chance to redevelop a city.
Now, 32 years, multiple urban plans and huge efforts to convince locals later, iStar’s vision for Asbury Park has been mapped out in eight redevelopment projects, and that number is rising. Starting with The Asbury, the town’s first hotel opening in 50 years, followed by the Monroe – a 34-unit condo designed by New Jersey-born, Miami-based architect Chad Oppenheim – and the tentatively named 1101 Ocean, an ocean-front mixed-use complex with an upmarket
50-room hotel on top, iStar’s plans promise to restore the city to its former glory, and more.
‘When I discovered this place, an hour and ten minutes away from New York, 35 acres
of empty land on the boardwalk, between historic buildings, it was like, this cannot be,’ says Anda Andrei, creative director and design lead of the overall Asbury Park project. ‘It’s a quirk that it exists. I felt like I was in the Wild West at the beginning of America, discovering it like, “This is my land!” It’s an opportunity that rarely comes and Jay [Sugarman, iStar CEO] realised it. It is a legacy project for him, and for me too.’
The silver-haired Romanian, who set up on her own in 2013 after a 29-year stint with Ian Schrager, finally as president of design, is focused on preserving the character of the place. For each project, she has enlisted different talents, such as Oppenheim, architect Gary Handel and interior designer Dominic Kozerski. ‘This had to be done in a unique, one-of-a-kind, caring way. Not just go in with bulldozers, build a lot of condos, sell them, make a buck and get out. Jay felt it was his legacy not to destroy the soul of this town, not to make it another developer special. Very few people do that. Almost nobody,’ she says.
With The Asbury – a stylish hotel designed by Stonehill & Taylor and Bonetti Kozerski with a rooftop bar, pool and rooftop lawn that hosts film screenings – open since May, Andrei is emboldened about the next phase. ‘Now the hotel is open, it offers greater credibility for who I can bring in. Inviting these creatives and sharing your vision, you really had to seduce people with words.
Now there’s more physicality to the concept.’
Andrei, who also directed Aby Rosen’s 11 Howard property in New York, says, ‘When I started this, I couldn’t stop connecting it with the year Ian got the Delano in South Beach and we went there and it was nothing. What the Delano did for the whole South Beach, I wish that it would happen here too. This is way above doing a hotel. It’s much more challenging and complex, with social and economic implications. In general, I find the boutique hotels got out of control and I actually dislike most of them. Going back to classic is right and a return to less design is right.’
The development of Asbury Park (clockwise from bottom left)
Vive: Completed January 2014. With 28 townhouses, this is the first residential development on the city’s waterfront since 2007.
South Grand: Completed June 2015
. A complex of 28 four-storey townhouses, this is
the first development by a national homebuilder
in Asbury Park since 1984.
Monroe: Due to complete December 2016.
A 34-unit condo designed by Anda Andrei
in collaboration with Chad Oppenheim.
The Asbury hotel: Completed May 2016.
A 110-room hotel designed by Anda Andrei with Stonehill & Taylor and interior design firm Bonetti Kozerski. The first new hotel in Asbury Park in
50 years, it was formerly a Salvation Army building.
Asbury Lanes: Due to complete 2017.
This legendary music and bowling venue
will be carefully updated by iStar.
1101 Ocean Residential and Hotel: Due to complete summer 2018.
A residential complex designed by Anda Andrei, together with architect Gary Handel, landscape architects Madison Cox and Bonetti Kozerski.
A 50-room boutique hotel sits on top. The complex has stood vacant for 20 years and is one of
the tallest buildings along the Jersey shore.
As originally featured in the October 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*211)
A tower on The Asbury hotel’s rooftop, which is used to project films onto the wall in the evenings
INFORMATION
For more information visit The Asbury Hotel’s website
Photography: Adrian Gaut; Illustrator: Joshua Checkley
ADDRESS
The Asbury
210 5th Avenue
Asbury Park
NJ 07712
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
-
Corner Corner may be London's most unique entertainment destination yet
The newly-opened venue combines food, jazz and—yes—urban farming beneath one sprawling roof
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
The Wallpaper* Design Issue comes with our Salone del Mobile must-sees
The May 2025 issue of Wallpaper* is on sale now, taking in Milan Design Week, the Venice Biennale, and a very stylish tea party
By Bill Prince Published
-
Aboard Gio Ponti's colourful Arlecchino train in Milan, a conversation about design with Formafantasma
The design duo boards Gio Ponti’s train bound for the latest Prada Frames symposium at Milan Design Week
By Laura May Todd Published
-
We explore Franklin Israel’s lesser-known, progressive, deconstructivist architecture
Franklin Israel, a progressive Californian architect whose life was cut short in 1996 at the age of 50, is celebrated in a new book that examines his work and legacy
By Michael Webb Published
-
A new hilltop California home is rooted in the landscape and celebrates views of nature
WOJR's California home House of Horns is a meticulously planned modern villa that seeps into its surrounding landscape through a series of sculptural courtyards
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The Frick Collection's expansion by Selldorf Architects is both surgical and delicate
The New York cultural institution gets a $220 million glow-up
By Stephanie Murg Published
-
Remembering architect David M Childs (1941-2025) and his New York skyline legacy
David M Childs, a former chairman of architectural powerhouse SOM, has passed away. We celebrate his professional achievements
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The upcoming Zaha Hadid Architects projects set to transform the horizon
A peek at Zaha Hadid Architects’ future projects, which will comprise some of the most innovative and intriguing structures in the world
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s last house has finally been built – and you can stay there
Frank Lloyd Wright’s final residential commission, RiverRock, has come to life. But, constructed 66 years after his death, can it be considered a true ‘Wright’?
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Heritage and conservation after the fires: what’s next for Los Angeles?
In the second instalment of our 'Rebuilding LA' series, we explore a way forward for historical treasures under threat
By Mimi Zeiger Published
-
Why this rare Frank Lloyd Wright house is considered one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ buildings
The JJ Walser House has sat derelict for six years. But preservationists hope the building will have a vibrant second act
By Anna Fixsen Published