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Council approves Boardwalk Preservation Fund subgrant to Madison Asbury Retail LLC to stabilize Paramount Theatre exterior
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Summary
The council authorized a subgrant agreement with Madison Asbury Retail LLC to begin a two-phase project to make the Paramount Theatre structurally sound and watertight using Boardwalk Preservation Fund money (ARP-derived), with a 90-day investigative phase led by historic-preservation consultants and a federal funding deadline of December 2026.
City waterfront redevelopment attorney Joseph Marazzidi told the council the city and the master redeveloper earlier secured $20 million from the Boardwalk Preservation Fund; "the city got $7,000,000 and Master Market got $13,000,000, total of $20,000,000," he said. Marazzidi presented a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign a subgrant agreement with Madison Asbury Retail LLC to begin work on the Paramount Theatre exterior.
Marazzidi described a two-phase approach. Phase 1 is a 90-day investigative and assessment period during which two firms — one identified as Michael Graves (an architecture/historic-preservation firm) and a second consulting/contracting firm identified as Marsh from Wayne, New Jersey — will examine the building exterior, test bricks and investigate leaks to determine what is necessary to make the structure watertight and structurally sound. He said construction documents will be prepared from that work and phase 2 will be negotiated as an amendment to the agreement.
Marazzidi said the funding originates from the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP), which imposes a deadline for completion; he told council that "all of the work other than this grant must be completed not later than December 2026 because the money has come from the federal government under the American Rescue Plan." He also said the property is subject to a historic easement held by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and that project work will coordinate with SHPO.
The council voted to authorize the mayor to execute the subgrant agreement with Madison Asbury Retail LLC; the roll-call vote recorded the four present council members as voting yes. Marazzidi thanked municipal staff, T&M Engineers staff (Jane Harzold and Fran Mullen) and the redevelopment team for negotiating the terms; he described the agreement as designed to reimburse the redeveloper based on inspections after work is completed and noted prevailing-wage and project-labor provisions will apply.
The resolution was adopted as part of the meeting's consent/individual resolutions (Resolution 2025-168 on the agenda). Specific reimbursement amounts, the full phase-2 scope and the detailed construction schedule beyond the phase-1 inspection period were included in the draft agreement filed with the city and referenced by Marazzidi; final work and payments are subject to inspection and compliance with grant terms.
