BRADLEY BEACH — A resolution that would authorize preparations for going out to bid to demolish the structure at 319 LaReine Ave. was tabled after residents raised several objections during public comment.
The mayor and council voted to table Resolution 2023-188, which would have given CME Associates, an engineering firm based in Howell, permission to prepare bid specifications for the demolition of the former First United Methodist Church site.
Paul Neshamkin, a resident and the President of the Bradley Beach Historical Society, said that there still exist “valuable asset[s]” inside the defunct church, including its stained-glass windows and pipe organ.
“I’ve been doing some extensive research trying to find out exactly the source of those stained-glass windows, and in talking to stained-glass experts and showing them images, we discovered that one of the windows may be a Tiffany Studio window,” Mr. Neshamkin said. He also emphasized the possible value if the window was confirmed to be genuine and highly sought-after Tiffany glass.
“Within the last couple of months, a gentleman in Philadelphia bought from a church—for $5,000—a couple of stained-glass windows which were just identified at auction as being Tiffany Studio windows,” he said, “and they went for $750,000 each.”
Another resident, Jack Gentempo, said that the building is even more historic than some protected buildings in nearby towns in the region and should be protected as well.
“[Ocean Grove is] recognized as an architecturally famous little town,” Mr. Gentempo said. “We’ve got something just as good—maybe even better—at 319 LaReine.”
At the council’s April 12 business meeting, Mayor Larry Fox announced that the property at 319 LaReine had been surveyed and subdivided into four conforming lots.
“The appraisal value came in at $2,471,000,” he said. “There are four conforming lots [on the property]—three lots at 5,500 square feet and one at 7,500 square feet…of those four conforming lots, three of them face Madison Avenue and one faces LaReine.” The gross appraisal came in at $800,000 per lot, with a net appraised value of $729,000 per lot, including demolition and other estimated costs.
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