UPDATE: Toms River Homeowners Can Take Cars to Parts of Barrier Islands Saturday, Sunday

Residents north of Lavallette can bring one car per household between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. this weekend, but access will depend upon where the home is located.

Entry to parts of the township north of Lavallette will enter another phase this weekend when residents can visit sections of the storm-ravaged peninsula in their own cars between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., according to the Toms River Township's Website. This gives residents an opportunity for more extensive remediation and preparing their homes for winter.  Large moving vans will not be allowed entry. On Saturday, Nov. 17, residents from the following sections will be able to visit:  Shore Way (Lavallette Border) North to Strickland Blvd.; Ocean Beach Units 1, 2, and 3; Ocean Beach Shores; Seacrest Beach; Sunset Manor Shores; Monterey Beach; and Ocean Beach Peninsula (Bayside). On Sunday, Nov. 18, residents of the following sections will be able …

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Ocean, Monmouth Getting Parkway Safety, Exit Reconstruction Projects Worth $330 Million

Work includes widening shoulders from mile markers 83 to 99

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority's Board of Commissioners has approved construction contracts worth $330.3 million for a project that will restore full-width shoulders and make other safety improvements of a 16-mile stretch roadway in Ocean and Monmouth counties. The project will start at mile marker 83.5 in Toms River and will run to mile marker 99.5. Construction will begin this fall and is scheduled to be completed in 2014. “There is no better use for our capital dollars than projects like this one that make our roads safer,” Transportation Commissioner James Simpson said in a prepared statement. “When the project is complete, a section of the Parkway with narrow shoulders, narrow travel lanes and a history of accidents will be built …

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Michele Spector

11:48 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013

I just found out from someone in Brick municipal complex that they cut sooo many more trees then they were supposed to. Because of this screw up they have proposed some new plans to fix this. We are having meeting at Evergreen Woods assn tuesday night, May 30th. I will have to confirm it is definitely on. I was also told that our lawyer has what they are proposing to do. I believe Senator …   more ›

Freeholders Approve $18.5 Million for Improvements at OCC

Growing enrollment, OCC-Kean partnership sparking need for new access driveway, student center

In two separate ordinances on Wednesday, the Ocean County Board of Freeholders approved $18.5 million in spending for improvements to the campus at Ocean County College. Thanks to state funding and money from the college itself, the measures are expected to cost the county $11 million of that total, however, Freeholder Deputy Director John C. Bartlett said. The improvements are the result of the college’s partnership with Kean University that allows students to start at OCC and wind up with a bachelor’s degree from Kean. “This is going to be a major development for our community,” Freeholder Director Gerry Little said. “It will offer students an affordable baccalaureate degree for under $25,000 total.” One ordinance, for $8.5 million, will…

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Business Briefs

Silverton Plaza Expanding Building, Parking Lot at Fitness Center

Building will grow 26,300 square feet

The leveling of land next to a plaza in the Silverton section of Toms River signals the expansion of a parking lot and the possible addition of a tenant there. The addition coming to town is located at the northbound side of Hooper Avenue, in Silverton, on the far side of the plaza containing CVS Pharmacy, Dunkin’ Donuts and Buy Rite Liquors on Silver Bay Road. There, the Club Metro USA fitness facility will be expanding their parking lot and the plaza it’s located in will be expanding also, according to Toms River Township Planner Jay Lynch. “This particular expansion was approved by the planning board. The fitness facility is located in a shopping center that has approval to expand both the building and the parking lot, although to the …

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Karen Ann Campbell

7:04 pm on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Hope so some people really need to lighten up   more ›

Downtown Toms River Parking Deck Closures Scheduled Today through June

Some levels scheduled to close temporarily, starting this week

Though work so far has led to road closures and one-way traffic, the next phase of the reconstruction of the downtown Toms River parking deck will close whole levels to parking starting today. Installation of columns and steel will shutter sections of the parking garage, located between Robbins and Horner streets, through May 30. The parking closures mark a new set of inconveniences to township employees or downtown visitors using the parking garage. The upper deck, often used by library patrons, will be completely closed for about a month and see scheduled closures this week. Township Engineer Bob Chankalian announced the following closures: The project began this winter as construction fence encircled the three-level parking garage and …

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PHOTOS: Parkway Exit 83 Construction

Shoulder closings on Route 571 and Parkway northbound continue this week as Exit 83 becomes a full interchange

The long-term project of rebuilding the parkway at Exit 83 continues in Toms River with shoulder closings along Route 571 and the parkway. At Intermediate Way and Route 571, the construction crews and flag men are clearing the way for an exit and entrance to parkway north and south at that stretch of Bey Lea Road. The existing entrance to parkway north at Route 166 is part of the construction. Check out our gallery of the recent construction as the project unfolds.

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Toms River Entrepreneurs

Hooper Ave. Project Will Put Three Office Buildings At Dayton Intersection

Dayton Terrace, the new office building being built on Hooper and Dayton Avenues, is expected to bring more employees into the downtown, but with so many vacant office spaces available, is it necessary?

On the corner of Hooper and Dayton Avenues, construction is again in full swing on three new office buildings known as “Dayton Terrace.” With so many available office spaces being left vacant in Downtown Toms River, however, is there a value in adding more office space to the market? “What we're finding is the office spaces that are being left vacant are antiquated in terms of what new leasers are looking for,” said Jody Alessandrine, executive director for the Toms River Business Improvement District. “In some instances, building something from the ground up is more cost efficient.” According to Alessandrine, the market dictates that buyers want more office space, and the vacant buildings are often those that are older and missing some …

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Goodbye Dover Mall

Last Remnant of Dover Mall Demolished

Old Staples came down last week

The Old Staples is down, Presidential Boulevard is redone, ShopRite is bustling, Party Fair has moved in — there's a lot of activity at the Crossroads Center. Coming soon: the opening of Spirits Liquors at the front of Crossroads Center. Where the Old Time Tavern once stood, the foundation for an unnamed restaurant tenant is being lain. Here's some images as Staples came down and Party Fair opened, the latest chapter of the reboot of the Dover Mall.

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Goodbye Dover Mall

Neighbors of Route 37 Plaza Weigh Construction Versus Convenience

ShopRite in Crossroads Center and reconstruction of Presidential Boulevard changes life for nearby tenants

Since February, the demolition of the Dover Mall into the Crossroads Center at Route 37 and 166 has been taken shape with widespread demolition and rebuild of 100,000 of combined square feet of retail space. Emerald Apartments tenants have been living right next door to it all. A ShopRite went up to the south. A large-scale stormwater basin for the plaza was dug yards from the backyard fenceline. The ShopRite construction is over, but there's still a restaurant pad to build and the realignment of Presidential Boulevard. There's customers coming to ShopRite and Staples. We asked some local residents and staff at Emerald Apartments and Terrace View how the experience has been during construction. “It’s been a long time coming. We had to get …

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Softball Field Complex Moves Closer to First Pitch

Photo gallery of construction on North Bay Avenue

The first phase of construction of a new municipal softball complex is underway on North Bay Avenue near Whitty Road in Toms River. Construction crews are moving and clearing the earth before the layout of a multiple-field design progresses. The end result will be a winding walking/bike trail throughout the campus, with the softball fields arranged like a cloverleaf, officials said. A playground and concession stand is also approved. Gone are the previous structures on the 26 acres, formerly known as the Epstein and Frankenburg poultry farms. Trees and brush were carted away as crews dig out the dugouts for four fields and a tot-lot t-ball field. Currently the girls softball teams play their games on various school fields throughout the …

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