Asbury Park On The Record: The Basics.

The historic buildings on the waterfront are in different conditions today, and the differences are worth stating building by building.

Convention Hall has been closed to the public since around September 2021. The Paramount Theatre is also closed. The Grand Arcade connecting the two buildings remains open to the public as a walkway.

At the Casino complex, the Arena, the section that faced the beach, was demolished in 2006. The Casino Arcade, the section spanning the boardwalk, has been closed since May 2023 due to deteriorating steel supports. The rest of the Casino building is closed. The Carousel section is open but has not been renovated. The Steam Plant next door is also closed.

The city has issued a series of formal default notices against the company responsible for these buildings. To be in default means the city has determined the company failed to meet obligations it agreed to. Resolution 2021-386, adopted in August 2021, cited failures to maintain the Convention Hall complex. Resolution 2023-89, adopted in January 2023, expanded those default notices to cover the Casino Building, the Steam Plant, and additional boardwalk structures. Resolution 2026-105, adopted in January 2026, authorized the city's outside counsel to issue updated default notices specific to the Casino Building.

There is a piece of active, positive news in the middle of this. A $20 million state grant, the Boardwalk Preservation Fund, is funding exterior restoration work on the Paramount Theatre aimed at reopening it, with $13 million of that grant allocated to the project. The company responsible for the building does not have to spend its own money on this portion of the work. All grant-funded construction must be completed by the end of 2026.