The former Joey Harrison’s Surf Club property, still undeveloped in July 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
A project to extend the Ortley Beach boardwalk and create new public access along the site where the former Joey Harrison’s Surf Club once stood took a major step forward Wednesday night, with Toms River officials awarding a $3.56 million contract for the construction work.
Ashland Contractors, of Howell, was selected for the contract, which was designed as a project-labor agreement. The work also includes the construction of a new public parking lot that will be located where the former nightclub’s parking lot was situated, across the street from the beach between 6th and 7th avenues.
Mayor Daniel Rodrick said work is expected to begin in the spring, though the exact dates are still to be determined. Officials are hoping the expanded area will be ready for at least some part of the 2026 summer season.
According to the project plans, the boardwalk will measure approximately 50-feet wide by 300-feet long and be elevated about 15-feet above the existing parking lot grade. It will stand about 5-feet above the dune crest elevation set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the recent beach replenishment project. A pavilion will be situated atop the elevated boardwalk and will measure approximately 50-by-100 feet. The boardwalk and pavilion are anticipated to be made with wood-framed construction and will be supported on timber piles having a minimum capacity of 10 tons.
The former Joey Harrison’s Surf Club property, Ortley Beach, N.J., June 2021. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Sixth Avenue and Ocean Avenue in Ortley Beach, with the former Surf Club property in the background. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Demolition begins at Joey Harrison’s Surf Club, Dec. 3, 2021. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The boardwalk will run between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, and will connect to the existing boardwalk which is located to the south. While township officials had attempted previously to design a full connection to the separate boardwalk that begins at Fifth Avenue, it was ultimately deemed unfeasible due to the presence of privately-owned condominiums to the north of the Surf Club site. Environmental regulations precluded the boardwalk from being moved further east into the dunes to avoid touching the private property.
The boardwalk will be supported by timber piles that were recommended by an engineer to be driven 20-feet into the sand. They can withstand 10 tons of weight and 5 tons of uplift. The piles will have a 12-inch diameter. Additionally, the township’s state CAFRA (Coastal Areas Facilities Review Act) permit calls for enhancement of a portion of the existing dune with about 75 cubic yards of beach sand and native plantings and the additional planting of 4,110 square yards of native vegetation.
Remnants of the Surf Club in Ortley Beach, destroyed in Superstorm Sandy. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The pavilion will be located at about the midpoint of the boardwalk extension and measure 3,040 square feet in area, while the boardwalk itself will measure approximately 13,220 square feet in area. The parking lot will be reconstructed in the parcel that was originally used as the Surf Club’s parking lot, spanning the area between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
The Surf Club property was purchased by the township utilizing state Blue Acres funding in partnership with Ocean County. The nightclub and restaurant was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
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