Embracing Change on Highway 35

By:  | October 6, 2025 |  | 

By Ocean Township Mayor John Napolitani

It’s no secret that the new Netflix studios coming to Fort Monmouth will be a total game changer for the shore area. Since I became Mayor in 2022, I have been saying that the Township of Ocean needs to be prepared for this change just north of us. There is a lot of potential for the Township of Ocean. With that, the idea of looking hard at Highway 35 for revitalization and creating an Economic Revitalization Committee was created and lead by Councilman Jeffrey Weinstein. A study of Route 35 was done and presented to the council in September.

With this study completed, the Council is starting to look very hard at our Highway 35 corridor for improvements that can be made. We have heard numerous complaints about the various blighted areas on the corridor between the Asbury Circle and Eatontown to the north, such as several motels that could seriously use some major TLC, a dilapidated shopping center with poorly engineered egresses, and several strip malls that also need some work are just a few areas we are looking into. The Township of Ocean needs to embrace the change if we are to be prepared to compete with our neighboring municipalities with Netflix coming to the shore area.

To start off we were told for many years that the Orchard Plaza Shopping Center was being sold. Nothing happened except more and more vacancies and a center turning into disrepair. In January, the council took an aggressive stance and began the process of designating this site as an area in need of redevelopment with condemnation as a potential tool for the Township of Ocean to use. This designation was the answer, as we were informed in late July that the shopping center was sold to a new owner with some bold ideas. The council will have some input into what is being considered on this site, so stay tuned!

With our newly formed Economic Revitalization Committee, we will be coming up with ideas on how to make further improvements to Highway 35. Although controversial, the corner of Deal and Rte. 35, with the newly developed Ocean Commons, is a welcome site. Elevations are classy and fit for what Ocean deserves to have moving forward. Middlebrook Shopping Center has added new tenants and is continuing to improve their center. Ocean Plaza, where Wegmans is located, continues to make various improvements and upgrades, and has added great new tenants in the past few years. These are just a few of the bigger shopping centers on Route 35. So, we are headed in the right direction.

It's our goal over the next two years that we are in office, to come up with new and innovative ideas on how to improve our Township to be ready for the future. Netflix is just the beginning. With thousands of people moving to the area, it will be challenging at times, but very exciting to see what the future holds. I know with proper planning, foresight, and most importantly, owners of the properties and stakeholders embracing this change, we can make the Township of Ocean one of the destination places on the shore where people want to come and spend their money. We all look forward to what the future holds as it relates to some really positive changes happening over the next decade!