New Asbury hotel catches Christie's eye

The Asbury Hotel opened two weeks ago to little fanfare but got its spotlight Friday with a visit from Gov. Chris Christie

ASBURY PARK -- Plenty of buildings in Asbury Park have been rehabbed and given a second life in the past decade, but none drew as much attention from Gov. Chris Christie than The Asbury, the city's first large-scale hotel in five decades.

The Asbury - a reincarnation of the Salvation Army building a block from the ocean -- opened without great fanfare on Memorial Day weekend, but Christie's visit there on Friday brought accolades and the spotlight to a ghost of a vibrant Shore resort brought back to life.

Now listed by Travel and Leisure magazine as one of the top places in the world to visit, Asbury Park no longer needs to remind people that it's got a lot to offer, Christie and city officials said in a summer kickoff tour of the city's waterfront.

"In 1980, we became slightly insignificant. So much so that the state's Travel and Tourism Guide solely listed this destination as an exit on the Garden State Parkway," said Jacqueline Pappas, executive director of the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce. "Well, we've grown a lot since 1980 and every day now in Asbury Park is a special day. Every day now has something new and this is the new history of Asbury Park."

Asbury Park's chic new $50M hotel opens

Christie waxed nostalgic about the days his parents brought him and his brother as young boys to a still relatively healthy Asbury Park. And when the city fell on hard times for close to three decades, it became the inspiration for Bruce Springsteen's song "My City of Ruins," he said.

"Now we have much to celebrate here. When you look at what has happened - the repurposing of this into a really beautiful 110-room boutique hotel - it's pretty amazing," he said. "Not only (for what) private sector investment and public sector partnership can do, but more importantly what the imagination and the ingenuity of people who understand what this city is all about and what its potential is for the future can really develop."

Mayor John Moor said the hotel pumps more taxes into the city and helped give city residents first dibs on jobs there along with training.

"The project has accomplished much," Moor said. "In addition to giving us a new hotel, it has given us a much needed ratable and provided a 10-week job training course, which resulted in the employment of many city employees."

Development firm iStar bought the Salvation Army building - a seven story structure once used as a retirement spot for the ranking officers of the Christian charitable organization - for $100 at a sheriff's sale in 2013 with an eye toward turning it into a boutique hotel.

Since then, the company invested $50 million into The Asbury, said Brian Cheripka, vice president of land for iStar.

"It also serves as a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together to create a new sense of excitement for the community," he said. "For iStar, our goal is simply to elevate the waterfront experience while preserving and building on the unique character of the city."

A fourth hotel under the Salt Hotel brand, The Asbury is that company's first venture into New Jersey, said Salt chief executive David Bowd. who teamed up with iStar for the project.

Bowd said he first visited Asbury Park seven years ago for an event at The Stony Pony and "fell in love with the town."

"The mix of people, the range of people that come to Asbury Park just really were so inviting and gave us an opportunity to create something truly special," he said. "We wanted a hotel that was very much a sense of character, was very interesting, was dynamic and had many multiple outlets within the hotel that allowed guests to mingle."

That was the goal for the rooftop space where the press conference was held Friday. Called the Baronet after a 97-year-old Asbury Park theater that developers tore down in 2010, the grassy rooftop space is used for yoga in the morning, parties in the afternoon and outdoor movies at night, he said.