It’s primarily known as the shore town where rocker Bruce Springsteen first rose to fame, but now, Asbury Park, NJ, is poised to rebrand itself as a luxury resort beach town.

With a Springsteen biopic, “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” starring Jeremy Allen White, being released on Oct. 24, attention will no doubt turn to the area, which already looks different from when the rock legend honed his skills at The Stone Pony in the 1970s.

“Bruce Springsteen may have put Asbury Park on the map,” says developer Ralph Zucker. “But it’s a lot more than a place where Bruce sang or still sings.”

Asbury Park—the new Hamptons?

There was a time when wealthy buyers from the tristate area stuck to the Hamptons or Connecticut for their vacation home. But that’s rapidly changing as even the uber-wealthy are getting priced out of an area where homes regularly hit the market for $50 million or more.

Even Hamptons regulars such as former “Real Housewives of New York City” star Bethenny Frankel fled the island due to “suffocating” overcrowding.

“Certain towns like Sag Harbor and Nantucket Town have become insufferable with crowds and traffic,” the reality star told Realtor.com®.

Enter the Jersey Shore.

Long known as a college party enclave (see MTV’s early-aughts reality show “The Jersey Shore”), it has lately been discovered by luxury developers who appreciate the area’s proximity to New York City, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.

And, of course, its miles of pristine shoreline.

“Why spend three hours each way [going to the Hamptons] when you’ve got the Jersey Shore right here?” asks Zucker.

This isn’t hyperbole. The area’s surge prices reflect its increasing popularity with the city set.

In July 2016, its median price point was $349,000. It’s now $789,000, a 126.1% appreciation, far more than the 66.7% increase seen in East Hampton, according to Realtor.com data.

“Asbury Park is experiencing a surge in luxury development, drawing in wealthier buyers and investors, especially from New York City, which is driving up property values and potentially pricing out affordability-minded buyers,” says Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones.

Zucker, CEO of Inspired by Somerset Development, is known for converting the vacant and underused Bell Laboratories property in Holmdel, NJ, into a sprawling 2 million-square-foot “metroburb” known as Bell Works.

Now, he’s turned his attention to Asbury Park, seeking to bring a new level of luxury to Springsteen’s former stomping grounds.

“We had been looking at Asbury Park for a while,” he tells Realtor.com. “But it was never the right time.”

But 2023 became the right time when his firm won 2 acres just beyond the boardwalk on Ocean Avenue for $15 million. (Zucker says his company had a rather long “beauty contest” process to beat out other interested development firms.)

The Lido

Set for a 2027 open, Lido Asbury Park will have 112 luxury units ranging in price from $825,000 one-bedrooms to over $8 million for multilevel “villas in the sky.”

The homes start at approximately 970 square feet and top out at over 3,800 square feet.

One of the 12 planned penthouses has already been snapped up, setting a record with a $7.6 million triplex penthouse sale, the highest in New Jersey history for a single condo.

Sales are being held exclusively by Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group.

Imagined by New York City designer Clodagh, the Lido comes with plenty of outdoor space, including an indoor-outdoor saltwater spa pool, Turkish hammam, Vichy shower, plunge pools, indoor-outdoor saunas, and a sculpture park with fire pits.

Indoors, there’s the library, activity lounge with billiards and card tables, parlor room, co-working suite, private dining and entertaining suite, screening room, children’s playroom, pet spa, and more.

The “villas” feature open layouts, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, kitchens with Taj Mahal stone countertops, Miele appliances, and spa bathrooms with heated flooring. The priciest homes will also have private plunge pools, outdoor kitchens, and oversized terraces.

Although the gleaming white building seems more Miami than New Jersey (much like another new development in nearby Long Branch), architect Michael Lawson, of Minno & Wasko, says the Jersey Shore was an integral muse—and that doesn’t mean a Snooki mural in the lobby.

“The ocean and the Jersey Shore were important inspirations that were used throughout the architecture, interior design, and landscaping,” he tells Realtor.com.

“The two towers on-site were oriented to maximize views and glazing toward the ocean. This allowed for a private park to be developed overlooking the beach, planted with sustainable and locally indigenous vegetation. The materials on the building were specifically selected to mimic the texture and color of the sandy beaches in Asbury Park.”

But with the relatively low entry point (at least for luxury on this level), Zucker insists that the Lido is for all, not just people who have rock-star funds.

“Great places means great people, and great people means everybody,” he says.

Though some buyers are Manhattanites seeking an alternative to the Hamptons, most have so far been local. [Neither the developer nor Corcoran would release sales figures.]

After all, one need not go far to find buyers who can shell out millions for a condo. Asbury Park has some of the wealthiest inland ZIP codes surrounding it, including Princeton, Hillsborough Township, and Manalapan Township.

Given Asbury Park’s roots as a blue-collar working town, the type where artists such as Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi could afford to get their start, will luxury developments such as the Lido and the nearby Asbury Ocean Club and Residences mean no more vibrant arts scene?

“Without policies to preserve affordability, Asbury risks becoming dominated by seasonal second homes and high-end properties, diluting its local character and year-round vibrancy,” warns Jones.

But Zucker insists The Boss himself would approve of the turn the formerly shabby boardwalk town has taken.

He mentions a concert he went to last summer in the area—one where Springsteen gave a shoutout to the developers, like himself, who are reimagining the seaside city.

“The economic downturn the area experienced for a period of time has dissipated,” he says. “Asbury Park has come into its own.”