Cloisters Condos for Sale

Living in Cloisters

The Cloisters occupies the south end oceanfront on Harbor Beach Boulevard in Brigantine, and it is laid out differently from every other condominium community on this island. Rather than one tower on a lot, it is a campus — several buildings of three and four stories arranged around a central pool and clubhouse, with mature landscaping and lawn between them. Homes are identified by building number as well as unit, and the building you are in determines your view, your walk to the pool and your walk to the sand. Ask which building before you ask anything else.

What sits between the buildings and the ocean is the whole argument for this place. A broad protected dune field runs the length of the property, and rather than treating it as something in the way, the community treats it as the front yard. The grounds are meticulously kept, the plantings are dense and deliberate, and the dune and wetland behind them draw over fifty species of birds through the year. Private beach access runs through the Brant Beach Gardens entrance. It is a genuinely quiet, park-like setting on a barrier island, which is a rare combination and the reason this is the top of the Brigantine condo market.

The homes are large by any island standard — two-bedroom, two-bath layouts running from roughly 1,500 square feet to well over 2,400, which is house-sized rather than condo-sized. Fireplaces are standard. Top-floor units carry soaring vaulted ceilings with exposed trusses, an architectural feature you almost never see in condominium construction and one that changes the feel of the whole home. Most homes have a private covered porch, and the corner units pick up light on two exposures. Interiors range from original to fully rebuilt, and given the price band here, condition and finish level move value more than square footage does.

The amenity set matches the price. An in-ground pool, a clubhouse and club room, elevator access in the buildings, covered parking with assigned spaces and carports, outside showers, and storage. On-site property management, which is worth more than it sounds — a well-run association shows up in how a place looks in February, not July, and this one shows it. The community is pet friendly.

Two things to raise with your agent early. Records here indicate conventional financing, so confirm with your lender what is available in this association before you get attached to a unit. And ask the association directly about the current fee, what it covers, and whether any assessment is in place — on a campus this size with this much shared grounds and amenity, the fee is doing real work, and you want to know exactly what it buys rather than comparing a number against a smaller building down the road.

The location is the south end, minutes from the shopping and restaurants and a short drive over the bridge to Atlantic City. If you want to be directly on the sand instead of behind the dune, compare against Cedar Sands or the larger oceanfront buildings at Brigantine Beach Club and Brigantine Island Beach. For the bay side, see bayfront homes, or work through every building at once on the Brigantine condos page.