A FINAL BLOW TO MIKE REINA & VITO CARDINALE: JACKSON'S ADVENTURE CROSSING MEGA-PROJECT COLLAPSES INTO FORECLOSURE

Pictured is Vito F. Cardinale, president of Cardinale Enterprises. Photo credit Tanya Breen/ Asbury Park Press.

A portion of the $800-million “Adventure Crossings” mega-development - long touted as Jackson Township’s future economic engine - has been pushed to the brink of collapse, with a newly-filed foreclosure lawsuit revealing that the project’s core property is more than $14.8 million in default and may soon be headed toward a sheriff’s sale, FAA News has learned.

According to a foreclosure complaint filed this week in Ocean County Chancery Court, Wilmington Savings Fund Society (WSFS) has moved to seize the 515 Monmouth Road property where The Dome at Adventure Crossings is located after developer Vito Cardinale’s companies missed multiple loan payments, defaulted on a 2024 forbearance agreement, and failed to repay the entire debt when it matured in September 2025. 

The filing marks the most serious financial crisis yet for Adventure Crossings - a years-long, highly publicized effort to build a sprawling sports, entertainment, medical, retail, and hospitality destination off I-195. Much of what was promised - restaurants, fields, arenas, retail clusters, hotels - never materialized.

When originally approved, Adventure Crossings was pitched as a regional sports and tourism hub. But, earlier this year, the retail and entertainment components stalled, cash flow problems mounted, and the developer abruptly pivoted toward a controversial plan for 1,100 residential units - a move widely viewed as an attempt to financially salvage the languishing project.

That pivot failed.

In October, the Jackson Zoning Board rejected the massive residential expansion, sending the developer “back to the drawing board,” and leaving the partially-constructed site with no viable revenue path.

Within weeks, WSFS issued a final default notice and, on December 5, filed suit.

The Numbers Behind the Collapse

The 18-page foreclosure complaint paints a stark financial picture:

• Original construction loan: $14.4 million (September 2022)

• Default began: May 2024

• Debt maturity: September 28, 2024

• Forbearance agreement granted: October 2024 (extended relief until Sept. 29, 2025)

• Developer failed to pay even under the forbearance

• Amount now due: $14,899,975.92 as of Dec. 2, 2025 - including interest, penalties, legal fees, and appraisal costs. 

WSFS is asking the court to fix the total debt, authorize foreclosure sale of the property, strip the developer of any remaining ownership rights, and grant possession of the 515 Monmouth Road parcels. 

Behind the Scenes: A Developer Out of Time

Court documents show that WSFS had already given Cardinale extraordinary leeway, entering into a forbearance agreement in October 2024 to delay foreclosing for nearly a year. But once the extension expired, Cardinale’s companies still lacked the funds to repay the debt.

The final default notice, dated October 20, 2025, warned that unless the multimillion-dollar balance was paid within 10 days, litigation would begin. It wasn’t paid. 

The complaint also reveals the developer drained a “Cash Collateral Account” throughout 2025 to cover monthly payments - but by October 2025, only $128,593 remained, nowhere near enough to stop foreclosure. 

What Happens Next?

With the foreclosure now formally filed, Adventure Crossings faces several immediate threats:

• Potential sheriff’s sale of the 515 Monmouth Road property

• Loss of site control, jeopardizing all future development

• Possible domino effect on related LLCs, investors, contractors, and municipal relationships

• Major land-use implications if the project collapses mid-build

For years, Adventure Crossings was promoted as the township’s signature economic centerpiece - a tourism magnet capable of transforming the Route 537 corridor. But with the sports, retail, hotel, and medical facilities mostly unrealized, and the controversial residential expansion rejected, the mega-project now teeters on the edge of financial ruin.

The newly filed foreclosure case, may ultimately decide its fate.

If WSFS prevails, the heart of the development - the Monmouth Road acreage - could soon belong to a bank rather than a builder.

And Jackson’s most ambitious project in decades may go down as one of its most spectacular collapses.

As previously reported here on FAA News, back in December 2024, the Jackson Township Council  enacted Ordinance 33-24 to modify the Township's zoning ordinances for Adventure Crossings. At the time the Council touted the move as a "heroic effort" to ensure the developer can't develop 1,200 homes on the site by-right.

As previously reported here on FAA News, back in February 2025 Cardinale responded with a lawsuit seeking $120 million in damages - the amount he claims the Ordinance change prejudices him. 

The Council responded to the lawsuit by voting on first reading to repeal their "heroic vote to stop 1,200 homes from getting built at Adventure Crossing."

However, following exposure of this scandalous move - which the Council attempted to cover up during the recent election season - the Council has now walked back from their efforts to repeal Ordinance 33-24. The trial date for the lawsuit is set for Thursday, February 5, 2026.  Cardinale recently filed his trial briefs.

Adventure Crossings' saga is a massive blow to former Mayor Michael Reina, a close confidante of Cardinale.

As the news was broken here on FAA News, back in October 2023, Kevin Schmalz who served as the Plumbing Inspector and Sub-Code Official until October 2022, filed an explosive whistleblower lawsuit reveals allegations that Reina coerced the Township's building inspectors to massively "look away" for his important friend - Cardinale - and even threatened to terminate their employment if they didn't do the dirty work they demanded!

The Township remains mired in that litigation for which the Township’s insurance carrier denied coverage.

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