43-Unit Condo Complex Proposed For Condemned Ocean City Site

OCEAN CITY, NJ — A developer wants to build a 43-unit condominium complex on the site of the condemned Seaspray complex in Ocean City.

At the latest City Council meeting, a resolution was approved requesting that the Ocean City Planning Board review the property at 3313 Bay Ave. to determine if it should be deemed an area in need of rehabilitation.

Seaspray was built in about 1955 as a hotel and became a 32-unit condo complex in about 1999. It was declared structurally unsafe in 2023; it reopened after it was found to be safe but in need of repairs. But in 2024, concrete from a stair landing fell off the building and it was discovered that repairs had not been done. It has remained red-tagged and unoccupied since spring of 2024.

By naming the property an area in need of rehabilitation, the developer would be able to negotiate new zoning standards that could ease the process.

City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson emphasized that this resolution only gave the Planning Board a recommendation; it does not give any approvals nor does it lock in any commitments. Instead, this was just "the first step," she said.

"It deals just with the current condition of the property and not any future or proposed specific development," McCrosson said. Council could declare it an area in need of rehabilitation and then decline a redevelopment agreement, she said.

The developer wants to construct 43 units in three stories above one level of parking. If the project gets support, Councilman Dave Winslow will host a public meeting to introduce the details and get input from the public.

Some residents worried this would create a precedent leading to the construction of an ICONA Resorts luxury hotel on the Boardwalk.

Jim Kelly, leader of the group Ocean City 2050, spoke at the meeting to say that while it differed from ICONA CEO Eustace Mita's plan, it was still similar.

"It is believed you plan on seeking the same or similar process to advance the ICONA high rise proposal at your Aug. 21 meeting, two weeks from today, as publicized by developer Eustace Mita," Kelly said. "That plan seeks to circumvent the city's planning and zoning statutes, eliminate the largest on Boardwalk with a non-permitted use and replace an occupied operational building the city deems safe."

Kelly said that "many residents" oppose City Council using this resolution as either a precedent or mandate to do the same for the former Wonderland site.