Sun shines on Traders Cove in more ways than one

PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff Above: One family wasted no time taking advantage of the sunshine and improvements at Traders Cove Marina & Park on June 25. The bulkheading along the sandy section is new, and picnic tables and barbecue grills will be in place for the summer season. Below: Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis enjoys a moment in the sun with his mother, Mary Cotten, at the Traders Cove Marina and Park. Back in 1980, a young state Department of Environmental Protection employee was one of many fighting to keep a proposed 230-unit condominium project from going up on what was then known as Pelicans Cove.

"We tried to beat that back," acting DEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello recalled, when he returned to the now township-owned site known as Traders Cove on June 25. "The driving concern was about the potential impact on the bay. It seems like an eternity ago."

The sun broke out after days of rain when Mauriello came to Traders Cove to present Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis with two checks — one for $3.4 million as partial reimbursement for the site acquisition costs, and a $1 million check for site redevelopment costs.

"It's kind of a race to preserve these sites," Mauriello told the audience, as a kayaker dipped his paddle in Barnegat Bay and glided by the gazebo where the check presentation was held. "We should always try to preserve these jewels. To have this kind of site on the water, it's an amazing achievement."

"This is the good part," Acropolis quipped. "Show me the money."

Brick bought the site in 2005 for $8 million, after a lengthy court battle to keep another developer from putting up condominiums. The Township Council and Planning Board in 2007 declared the site a property in need of redevelopment. A private developer had expressed interest last year in redeveloping and running the marina portion of the park. But he later pulled out, in part because of a lawsuit the environmental group Save Barnegat Bay had filed objecting to a private redeveloper and the number of boat slips on the site. The lawsuit has since been withdrawn.

Assistant Township Planner Tara Paxton, who filed the township's Green Acres application for the state funds, said before the presentation she had no doubt the township will eventually recoup the money it used to purchase the site.

"I knew I just needed to be patient, have perseverance," she said. "We're not done. We're going to keep applying for more funding."

The township sold off a 2.2-acre chunk of the site next to the Mantoloking Bridge to Ocean County for $1.5 million, for use as a fishing area and passive park.

The section next to the new gazebo already has new white sand down and picnic tables in place. One family was already making use of the picnic tables during the presentation. The township plans to put some barbecue grills on the site for the summer, he said.

"We wanted to make this as usable for this year and possibly next year," Acropolis said.

The sandy area, roughly 2.5 acres, may be the eventual site for the New Jersey Museum of Boating. The museum is currently located in Bay Head, but museum officials have plans ready to move to Traders Cove, once the economic situation improves, museum Director Robert O'Brien has said.

Acropolis estimated the township has spent roughly $10,000 so far readying the park for the summer. Temporary restrooms are located off to the west side of the park for now. New aluminum bulkheading is already in place on sections of the waterfront, thanks to a shared services agreement with the county, he said.

"We didn't spend a whole lot of money, but now it's a useable park for the people of Brick Township," Acropolis said.

Township workers last week took down a large, rusting metal boat shed that had been on the property since the 1950s. The Green Acres application the township submitted to the state calls for the park's redevelopment to be done in three phases.

The first phase includes upgrading water, sewer and electrical services on the site; constructing parking areas and driveways; and putting up a two-story harbor master's building that will house restrooms showers and storage on the first floor and a second-floor office for the township employee who will run the marina on the second floor, Paxton has said.

The second phase involves the construction of parking areas and an 8-foot-wide boardwalk promenade along the waterfront perimeter.

The third phase calls for the construction of a "boundless" playground that provides more access for handicapped children, a canoe and kayak launch and a trailhead to the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge.