A major restoration of Asbury Park’s Convention Hall complex just got a financial jolt, and it is the kind of work that keeps preservation-focused construction teams busy for years.
State officials in Trenton have agreed to partially fund the $130 million project, awarding $75 million through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Cultural Arts Facilities Expansion Program, also known as CAFE. The funding is slated to support rehabilitation of mechanical and structural systems, architectural work, and ADA improvements across the Convention Hall, the Grand Arcade, and the Paramount Theater.
The complex has been closed since 2021 due to structural safety concerns, according to prepared statements from the EDA and the city of Asbury Park. The Asbury Park Press also reported the award is the largest issued by the CAFE program since it began accepting applications last year.
For contractors tracking preservation work along the Jersey Shore, two details stand out. First, the owner and applicant, Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette, has a pending application with the EDA for an additional $8 million tax credit through the agency’s historic reinvestment program. Second, professionals working on behalf of Madison Marquette told the Asbury Park City Council that the contractor hired to restore the Paramount Theater, March Associates Construction, dropped out of the project. A report by The Coaster said the theater scope includes reconstruction of the roof, masonry renewal, and structural steel repairs.
Timing also matters. The Coaster reported exterior work on the theater must be completed by the end of the year to secure $11.7 million from the state’s Boardwalk Preservation Grant program.
Built in the late 1920s and early 1930s and designed by Warren & Wetmore, the Convention Hall complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The project’s next steps will continue to draw attention locally, where residents have raised concerns about progress on other Madison Marquette-owned boardwalk properties slated for rehabilitation.
Read the full, original article from Jersey Digs here.