BEESLEY’S POINT – A $300 million to $400 million development project that will replace the former B.L. England power plant on Beesley’s Point has taken a key step forward in the long process of developing the 377-acre waterfront site.
Chad Parks, a principal in the Beesley’s Point Development Group, said the proposed development would include a 180-room hotel, 400 waterfront condos – including some age-restricted units – a marina and 80,000 square feet of retail space, including restaurants.
Parks said the company last week submitted an application to the state for a Coastal Area Facility Review Act permit to develop the property.
He said the development group would eventually give a presentation to Upper Township Committee, another to the Planning Board for its recommendations, and then a second to the committee, where the governing body will be asked to approve a redevelopment plan.
Acting Township Administrator Lou Veroni said there was talk of the company’s appearing before the committee in May, but no date had been scheduled or requested as of Monday, April 21. Mayor Curtis Corson said he had also heard discussion of a presentation at the first meeting in May.
Veroni said the CAFRA application is just one step in a list of approvals that will have to be given for the project, including construction and sewage. However, once the governing body approves the redevelopment zone, he believes what the developers propose will be compliant with the zone.
He anticipates its being a long time before construction begins.
Corson echoed Veroni’s comments about the timeline, saying there were a number of permits to be applied for locally and from the state. Asked about community support for the project, the mayor said the support level has been mixed.
The power plant ceased operations in 2019, and Beesley’s Point Development Group purchased the parcel at the end of February 2022. Since then the group has run three demolition projects, imploding the cooling tower on Sept. 29, 2022, imploding the boiler units on April 21, 2023, and demolishing the smokestack on Oct. 26, 2023.
The removal of the iconic smokestack, which was designed to resemble a lighthouse, was actually delayed from June 2023 in order to remove salvageable metal before it was covered with tons of bricks. Although it was widely reported that the smokestack would be imploded, the base was blown out from under it, and the tower fell as part of a controlled demolition.
Parks said the previous “coal pile” area from the power plant was sold to Ocean Wind, and any site mitigation was not a matter for his company. The same applies to the previously approved electrical substation site on the property that was OK’d by a divided governing body on a 3-2 vote. The three members who approved are no longer members of the Township Committee.
“The substation had nothing to do with us,” Parks said.
He also stated that alleged mercury contamination of well water in the Beesley’s Point community had not migrated from the power plant site. The state Attorney general’s Office is now investigating whether well water samples were tampered with.
Parks said that, at this point, the project is where the development group expects it to be.
“We are doing pretty good with the schedule, he said. “Now we’re at the point of showing plans for vertical development, not just site cleanup.”
If the property is developed as proposed, he said, “it will be a very vibrant location.”
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
