City of Asbury Park
Municipal government and redevelopment authority
Enforces the WRP, designates redevelopers, approves resolutions, and represents residents.
Current relevance
Every waterfront approval ultimately runs through the City.
The players
Who signed what.
A relationship map of the parties on the waterfront — the City, developers, operators, financiers and state agencies. Each card lists the documents that tie that party to the record.
City government
4City Council
Elected governing body
Adopts ordinances, resolutions, and the budget; designates redevelopers.
Current relevance
Most binding policy and financial decisions happen here.
Documents signed / cited
Planning Board
Municipal land-use board
Reviews site plans, variances, and subdivisions.
Current relevance
Public hearings here are where most residents can comment on new projects.
Technical Review Committee (TRC)
Municipal staff review committee
Pre-application technical review of development proposals.
Current relevance
First touchpoint inside City Hall before a project reaches the Planning Board.
Developers & operators
8Asbury Partners
Master developer
Named master developer in the 2002 Redeveloper Agreement and responsible for restoring the historic boardwalk buildings and building out the rest. Hands specific parcels to co-developers through Subsequent Developer Agreements that the City Council approves and signs.
Current relevance
Everything built on the waterfront flows through Asbury Partners. Owned by Star Holdings.
Documents signed / cited
iStar (who they were)
Former owner of the waterfront
The publicly traded Wall Street real estate firm, led by Jay Sugarman, that took control of the waterfront after the 2008 crash. In 2023 it merged with Safehold and split in two: the combined company kept going under the Safehold name, and the older real estate was spun off into Star Holdings. iStar no longer exists under its own name.
Current relevance
Controlled Asbury Partners when the 2010 SDA was signed, and held the waterfront from 2008 to 2023. Its obligations now sit with Star Holdings.
Documents signed / cited
Star Holdings (now)
Owner of the waterfront
The spun-off company that controls the waterfront, publicly traded on NASDAQ. A liquidation vehicle: its purpose is to develop out and sell the legacy real estate over time and then wind down, with the Asbury Park waterfront among its principal assets. It has no employees of its own and owns Asbury Partners. Jay Sugarman is its chief executive.
Current relevance
The current corporate owner behind the master developer. The entity whose disclosures and SEC filings describe the waterfront from the ownership side.
Documents signed / cited
Starfield Companies
On-the-ground operator
The firm that runs the Asbury Park buildings on the ground, led by former iStar executives Brian Cheripka and David Furgal. Hired managers, not owners.
Current relevance
The day-to-day operating face residents and tenants tend to encounter on site.
Safehold (now)
iStar's surviving business
The other half of the 2023 split, and iStar's surviving business: a publicly traded company whose core work is ground leases, not Asbury Park. It builds and owns nothing on the waterfront, but supplies Star Holdings' management and staff under the same leadership.
Current relevance
Not a property owner on the waterfront. Relevant because it shares leadership and staff with Star Holdings — Jay Sugarman has led iStar, Star Holdings, and Safehold, and the same small leadership group sits behind all three.
Madison Asbury Retail (MAR)
Subsequent developer: boardwalk and historic buildings
The Asbury Partners and Madison Marquette joint venture, formed in 2007. Co-signer and responsible party on the 2010 SDA: the subsequent developer for the boardwalk and its historic buildings, holding the Casino complex in fee. Carries the obligation to maintain and renovate them.
Current relevance
The named party residents should look to for the condition of the Casino complex, the pavilions, and the boardwalk historic buildings.
Documents signed / cited
Madison Marquette
Joint-venture partner in MAR
A Washington, D.C. retail and mixed-use developer, known for projects like The Wharf on the city's Southwest waterfront. Partnered with Asbury Partners in 2007 to form Madison Asbury Retail, the co-developer for the boardwalk and the historic buildings. In 2024 it sold the division that manages its retail properties to Avison Young.
Current relevance
Half of MAR; the other side of the boardwalk and historic-buildings obligation.
Documents signed / cited
Avison Young
Boardwalk leasing and operations
The Toronto-based firm that bought Madison Marquette's retail-management business in 2024. Day-to-day leasing and operations on the boardwalk now fall to it. It holds no ownership.
Current relevance
The current operating manager for the boardwalk retail spaces — the public face of leasing, not a party to the underlying agreements.
State agencies
2NJDEP
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Issues and enforces CAFRA permits.
Current relevance
Required reviewer for coastal impacts and public-access conditions.
Documents signed / cited
NJSHPO
NJ State Historic Preservation Office
Holds and enforces historic preservation easements on covered structures.
Current relevance
Required reviewer for any major work to easement-protected buildings.
Documents signed / cited