On Wednesday morning, Oct. 7, Barnegat Township officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new township dock pavilion.
The work will be done by local developer Edward Walters Jr. Over the summer, town officials had reached out to him when they were talking about the idea during discussions on other matters.
“He has a lot of things going on in town, so we frequently stay in touch,” said Mayor Pasquale “Pat” Pipi. “This will save us a ton of money.”
“We mentioned the pavilion, and he seemed receptive to that,” added Committeeman Alfonso Cirulli. “The talks were very positive.”
Walters said architectural designs have been completed. He said it will be a mostly vinyl structure.
“I’ve also sought commitments from other developers to hopefully move this along,” he said. “We would like to have it rebuilt in time for next summer. We want this to become a reality without costing the taxpayers.”
Problems with the previous pavilion first surfaced in June 2024, when a routine inspection of the two-story structure revealed issues with pilings as well as with a post that helped support the second floor. The result was the pavilion was immediately closed off to the public. Later that summer, the first floor was reopened, but the second floor remained closed and never reopened.
Earlier this year, demolition was performed in-house by public works staff, with the assistance of a crane rental company for $3,000. Township Engineer Kurt Otto said work entailed removal of the roof and second story, and reopening the first level.
(Supplied Rendering)
Walters said the project is “very important” because it was a popular place for people to come out of the sun and relax and enjoy the bay breezes.
“It’s unfortunate that people haven’t been able to enjoy it the last couple years,” he said. “But we have had a good working relationship with the town, so we’re glad to be able to help.”
Township Administrator Martin Lisella said that when exploring the possibility of going out to bid, they got numerous quotes that exceeded $350,000.
“If we did this ourselves, we were looking at a rather expensive proposition,” he said.
Gary Brower, Barnegat Historical Society president, said that based on old photos, a pavilion likely has existed at the site since the 1930s or earlier.
“While it has had previous repairs/rebuilds, the two-story pavilion on the bay has literally been there for the entire life of just about anyone alive here today,” said Brower. “I think it’s fair to say that the pavilion has also become a symbol of Barnegat for those on the bay in their boats.”
