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The city of Long Branch is experiencing a revitalization. The Monmouth County city has been known as a beach resort town since the late 18th century and it was actually named for its location along a branch of the South Shrewsbury River.

The renewal of Long Branch started over 10 years ago when Pier Village was built on the oceanfront in 2005 as a replacement for the burnt-out Long Branch Pier.

That Village (developed and run by Kushner Cos. since 2014) offers a mix of more than 30 varied shops and restaurants just off the beach and boardwalk. Kush-ner Cos. has also opened a hotel at Pier Village — the Wave Resort.

Other developments in that time include a beer hall, many shops, eateries and event areas. All of these enhancements to Long Branch has attracted visitors from other popular Jersey Shore towns and is also proving quite inviting to those from Philadelphia and New York City. Long Branch’s location is easily accessible via train, major highways and lies just a short drive from Manhattan.

To the south of Pier Village, FEM South Beach Urban Renewal is nearing completion of its $40 million South Beach at Long Branch luxury condo building at 350 Ocean Ave. A one-of-a-kind oceanfront condominium project. It’s a high-end exclusive lifestyle that you won’t find anywhere else at the Jersey Shore.

Spectacular panoramic ocean and shoreline views greet you from the moment you enter any unit plus they stay with you from every corner of the residence. Floor-to-ceiling glass provides plenty of sunshine and warms the space. Each unit is equipped with luxurious wood plank and Italian porcelain flooring, recessed lighting and expansive custom kitchens. Only the finest building materials were used, all with the ability to withstand the weather at the Jersey Shore.

There are nearly two dozen different floor plan layouts, and all offer a variety of indoor and outdoor space, plus buyers can continue to customize their living space as they need to fit into their lifestyle. The South Tower is unique as it features just two expansive residences per floor, each with direct eastern front-facing views as residences flow through to the back of the building with captivating western sunset views. On the seventh and eighth floor of the South Tower, two duplex penthouses with over 1,400 square feet of outdoor terrace space wraps each side of the building. The North Tower’s eighth floor offers a spectacular penthouse and features over 3,400 square feet of living space. A variety of two bedroom, 2.5 bath residences also fill in the North Tower, all with picturesque ocean views. To maximize ocean views, each residence features floor-to-ceiling window panoramas.

The project is packed with features that are unique to the Jersey Shore market such as private and semi-private elevators, concierge services, private dining with wine storage, a business center, high-tech fitness facility as well as a camera-monitored security system powered by the latest surveillance equipment.

There are even more stunning outdoor amenities on the plaza level where residents can swim and relax. A saltwater infinity-edge pool with a waterfall, raised sundecks, a patio with gas grills, fire pits and sand areas for yoga and meditation, as well as direct beach access. A private dining club with a commercial kitchen and gourmet chef will be available on weekends in the summer.

South Beach is conveniently located just a few miles from the Garden State Parkway, Exit 105, the West Long Branch Heliport, Seastreak Ferry and NJ Transit Long Branch Train Station.

South Beach at Long Branch homeowners also have access to four designer-decorated guest suites for up to four weeks during the year.

South Beach’s new gleaming glass and concrete towers rising on Ocean Avenue in Long Branch are turning heads and gaining recognition for their high-quality design and durable construction. They recently earned a top industry award from the New Jersey Concrete Association on their 56th Annual competition sponsored by the NJ Concrete and Aggregate Association & the NJ Chapter of The American Concrete Institute, which recognizes the outstanding concrete projects of 2018.

The oceanfront property earned this year’s Top Industry Award in the Low Rise Category which recognizes concrete projects at the forefront of innovation and technology. South Beach has earned the distinction of being selected as one of the award winners from roughly 90 projects nominated statewide.

“It’s an honor to receive this award and to be recognized as part of this exceptional group of projects in New Jersey,” said CEO Mimi Feliciano of FEM South Beach Urban Renewal, LLC. “I am so proud of our team for designing and building South Beach at Long Branch to meet the highest standards for oceanfront construction.”

“The craftsmanship of the concrete is at the very heart of South Beach at Long Branch – it sets the frame-work for an iconic structure where a close collaboration between engineers, architects, contractors and con-sultants has brought this unique design to life,” said Angelica Arent, senior project manager at Shore Point Ar-chitecture in Ocean Grove.

Standing eight-stories tall and constructed of cast-in place concrete, the pair of luxury buildings were molded to fit on a 1.7-acre site. At their core, the buildings are reinforced with concrete columns embedded with steel frames, and the exteriors are covered in precast concrete panels with a decorative finish. The use of concrete and other durable materials such as steel and high-quality glass produce an industrial-strength energy-efficient structure that can withstand the harsh coastal environment.

“This type of cast-in place construction is quite common in New York high-rises, but I have not seen a project like this at the Jersey Shore,” said David Ulassin, owner of Cornerstone Construction Services LLC in Somerville, which is the Construction Manager for this project. “Concrete is resistant to the elements — fire, wind, salt corrosion — which makes it practical and strong enough to literally last for hundreds of years.”

Concrete also lends itself to flexibility and creativity. “In a luxury residential building like South Beach at Long Branch, the use of two-way concrete slabs allows us to achieve the wide open interior spaces that the developers envisioned,” said Ulassin. “To implement that design we used high strength concrete which allowed us to minimize obstructions within each residence.”

There are no 90 degree angles within the residences and no center corridors in either of the North or South towers, explained Ulassin. The interior units span from the front of the building to the back. This design also makes it possible to offer semi-private and private elevators to have direct access into each home.

“As a result, every single residence at South Beach has beautiful unobstructed ocean views and that’s one thing that I have not seen anywhere, up and down the coast,” said Ulassin.

Bringing elegance to beachfront living by creating a lifestyle reminiscent of South Beach, Miami – that was the vision for Long Branch’s newest luxury condominiums. South Beach at Long Branch is for those who appreciate a beach life-style that is as chic as it is convenient.