Alyson Grala is the new associate editor, New Jersey region.

DIAMOND BEACH, NJ-Set to launch in early summer 2009, work is under way for the 125-unit first phase of the Grand at Diamond Beach residential condos. The project is located on 1,500 feet of private oceanfront property at 9600 Atlantic Ave. between Cape May and Wildwood.

Chester, PA-based developer Mita Management scooped up the beachfront property, which previously housed the Seapointe Hotel, in spring 2003, from the Masserella family. The Grand at Diamond Beach won approval in late 2007 and preliminary work began earlier this year.

And while the site has changed hands over the years, it has remained as a rare piece of private beachfront thanks to a 1908 land deal. Eustace Mita, chairman of Mita Management, says that "the federal government wanted to acquire 1,500 feet of bayfront for facility development. The owners did not want to sell, but agreed to release the property in a trade for 1,500 feet of oceanfront."