Ironstate Development will break ground in late-2009 for the third and final phase of Pier Village, the company's award-winning mixed-use community located along the revitalized oceanfront in Long Branch, NJ. The final phase of development will consist of a 100-room hotel, 200 rental residences, 75 condominium homes, 20,000 square feet of retail space and a new oceanfront public park. The Victorian-inspired community currently features 536 rental residences, more than 100,000 square feet of boutique shops and restaurants and a 600-space enclosed parking garage that's wrapped by a residential and retail building to mask the parking, thus enhancing the pedestrian-friendly environment. The community is located on a 16-acre site that once housed a popular amusement park and pier. A massive fire in 1987 destroyed much of the pier -- once the longest on the Jersey coast -- and the amusement park. The deserted facility and surrounding structures stood for more than a decade as a ghostly reminder of the city's lost tourism appeal and subsequent economic decline. Ironstate was designated the Redeveloper of the site by the City of Long Branch, and subsequently created the $400 million Pier Village development, which has substantially altered the fate of Long Branch by adding to the economic vitality of the City, creating considerable public amenities, and restoring the City's appeal as a sophisticated destination area. The resounding success of Pier Village earned the community 2007 "Project of the Year" by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and inspired Travel & Leisure Magazine to distinguish the area as one of "20 Great American Beaches" in 2007.