June 7, 2007

Jersey town becomes shore bet for Manhattan commuters
Long way home

By JENNIFER CEASER

LOOK out Hamptons;
the Jersey Shore is in going luxe.

Long Branch, N.J., located about 60 miles from Manhattan, began its turnaround just over three years ago, when the ocean-front Pier Village complex broke ground. A mixed-used development of a scale the town had never seen, Pier Village now includes 320 high-end rental units (ranging from $1,200 studios to $4,200 three-bedrooms), dozens of restaurants and boutiques, a spa and a 22,000-square-foot Gold's Gym.

And since its opening, Pier Village has become the unofficial town center, with an attractive boardwalk that more resembles South Beach than Atlantic City.

"I love being here with all the restaurants, bars, shopping, the boardwalk and the beach," says Dean Perda, who has rented a two-bedroom at Pier Village since April 2005, a few months after the complex opened,

Perda, 41, has lived in the Monmouth County area for the past 20 years, commuting daily to his job as a trader at Bear Stearns in Manhattan via the Highlands Ferry. (The ferry takes around 50 minutes and costs $626 for 40 peak round-trips.)

"Pier Village is a great community, where people say hello and hold open doors. There's also plenty for kids to do," says Perda, whose children live in nearby Oceanport. "There are concerts and movie nights."

Last month, Pier Village got even ritzier with the opening of Le Club, a European-style beach resort. Created by architect David Collins (the man behind London's famed Blue Bar) the new 25,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor space features a rooftop pool, sun deck, private furnished cabanas with showers and flat-screen TVs and beach-side food and beverage service from Avenue, a French brasserie. Annual membership is $5,000.

This fall, the second phase of Pier Village will break ground, with a planned 30-room boutique hotel, 212 new rentals, a residents-only swimming pool and another 5,000 square feet of retail space.

And there are plenty of New Yorkers to be found here year-round; 20 percent of Pier Village's renters commute daily to the city (the New Jersey Transit Long Branch station is four blocks away, and it's a 90-minute ride to Manhattan).

But if you'd rather own a piece of beachfront property, there are also brand-new luxury condo options.

Oceanview Villas, a 28-unit townhouse project just two blocks from the beach (and about the same distance from Pier Village), features units with Kohler fixtures, gas fireplaces and media rooms.

"We're using things like Andersen windows, stone
fronts and plank siding," says Matt Kelly, owner of Kelly Builders, which is responsible for the Ocean-view Villas project. "We're taking our time to ensure a high-end product."

Two layouts are available. Both have three bedrooms, 31/2; baths, a one-car garage, balconies and a deck. The smaller   measures 2,280 square feet and starts at $550,000; the larger, at 2,680 square feet, features a turreted living area and starts at $650,000.

It was the size of the units and the location (just a block from the beach) that attracted Michael Rodriguez and his wife Jennifer, both 33, to Ocean-view Villas. They moved
glass windows, private roof gardens and multiple balconies. All units feature hardwood flooring, Kohler fixtures and wiring for cable and high-speed Internet access.

The penthouses start at $1.6 million, but for as little as $399,000, you can buy into a building that boasts 24/7 concierge service, a two-story fitness center and a heated pool overlooking the ocean. (Granted, that's the price for the smaller "Antigua" unit with west-facing, or "sunset," views, but still.)

"There's no place else in this area where you can live across from the ocean in this kind of building for this price," says Stewart Kleiner, owner of The Kleiner Group, which built Diamond Beach.

The building is 25 percent sold, but since a major price adjustment was made (a unit that was selling for $625,000 is now $399,000), "we are selling at least one a week," Kleiner says.

Move-ins should start by the end of the summer.