OCEAN CITY- A potential land swap to accommodate the redevelopment of a decades-old midtown restaurant and nightclub was tabled this week to further determine what to do with a utility pole in the middle of the parcel acquired by the town.
Last December, the Planning Commission reviewed a proposed site plan for the redevelopment of the old BJ’s on the Water property on the bayfront at 75th Street. The property has since been sold to another popular resort restaurant group Ropewalk, which plans to develop the bayfront eatery called Windward OC.
The Ropewalk group has been operating the restaurant in its original footprint this summer as the Atlantic Beach House, but the long-term plan calls for the old restaurant to be torn down and replaced with a new two-story establishment on the same site with a sandy beachfront along the water, nearly 9,000 square-feet of dining areas including over 700 square feet on a rooftop terrace and other amenities.
The project will go through multiple layers of the approval process, but the planning commission in December gave its blessing to the redevelopment concept. On Monday, the Mayor and Council had before them a request to close a city-owned, seldom-used east-west alley between 74th Street and 75th Street to accommodate the redevelopment project.
Essentially what is a paper alley would be needed to accommodate the expanded parking for the establishment. Under the proposal, the town would convey the 100-foot paper alley to the property owner. In exchange, the property owner would convey an easement to the town for a 100-foot section of alley that runs north-to-south between the existing parking lot and the back of the Quiet Storm surf shop.
I suppose the “conveyances” caused the council to “table” discussions.
Ha.