$21M ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Beachfront Property is Biggest in NJ

A 2.48-acre beachfront property in Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Island is for sale for $21 million.

That might sound like crazy money to spend on an L-shaped parcel of land with no palatial beach house, but this spot could turn out to be a bargain for the right developer.

A Religious Order Owns the Land

The property for sale and the 8-acre Maris Stella Retreat and Conference Center on Barnegat Bay across the street, which is not for sale, are owned by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.

The Sisters, who have a convent in Morris County, used the Harvey Cedars property as a summer retreat.

The land has a dining hall, a guest house, and a bathhouse, all of which would probably be torn down by anyone buying the property.

The property is presently zoned single-family residential, allowing a single-family beach compound to be built.

If the zoning was changed, it would open the door for a developer to build as many as 8 to 10 houses on the land.

A Developer Could Build Multiple Beachfront Homes

According to the Philadephia Business Journal, this lot on Long Beach Blvd in Harvey Cedars is one of the largest beachfront residential properties in New Jersey.

It is also the highest-priced beach property in the state that comes without a new home on it.

The L-shaped layout means that the property could fit five or six homes on the direct oceanfront and, potentially, four or five more homes along the long driveway section of the parcel.

It's quite possible that Harvey Cedars would consider changing the zoning for such a project because of the windfall of tax revenue it would bring in.

A 'Once-In-a-Lifetime' Oppurtunity

The property has been under a religious tax exemption while owned by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, according to Realtor Jeffery Childers.

'In 16 years, I've never seen a property this large on the oceanfront come available," Childers told PBJ, calling it "truly a once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity.

A developer would need approval from Harvey Cedars and the state to subdivide the property and from the NJ Dept of Environmental Protection, in keeping with the Coastal Area Facility Review Act.

If you do the math on the cost of 8 to 10 homes this close to the beach on Long Beach Island, you can see the potential value of this property.

$21 million seems like it could be bargain-priced.