By Donald Wittkowski
A real estate deal completed Tuesday sets the stage for the redevelopment of one of Ocean City’s most notorious eyesores into a multimillion-dollar office complex that will serve as a new centerpiece for the main gateway into town.
Paul Chiolo, owner of the Keller Williams realty firm, confirmed his company’s purchase of the abandoned former Exxon gas station shortly after papers were signed at a title office to close the $500,000 transaction.
Keller Williams plans to demolish the decrepit Exxon building at the corner of Ninth Street and Bay Avenue to make way for an office complex that will serve as the company’s new corporate headquarters for Ocean City and Cape May County. Chiolo said the project will cost upwards of $2 million.
“We’re taking a blighted old Exxon station and replacing it with a state-of-the-art office building. I couldn’t imagine anything nicer than what we have in the drawing to welcome people to Ocean City,” Chiolo said, referring to an architectural rendering of the project.
Keller Williams is applying for city and county building permits to get the project started. The company expects to appear before the city’s Planning Board in November for site plan approval. Barring delays, construction could begin next spring or summer and be completed by fall 2017, Chiolo said.
The redevelopment of the old Exxon site is a key piece of the city’s overall plan to beautify the Ninth Street corridor from the bay to the Boardwalk, giving visitors a far better impression of what they see now as they enter town along the main artery.
Mayor Jay Gillian will hold a town hall-style meeting 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ocean City Tabernacle to discuss options for sprucing up the Ninth Street entryway, including creating more open space. Gillian is urging members of the public to bring their ideas, questions and concerns.
Chiolo said he plans to attend the town meeting to discuss the Keller Williams project and how it would help rejuvenate the Ninth Street corridor.
The city’s strategy for giving Ninth Street a makeover largely depends on the redevelopment of some old commercial properties, including long-shuttered gas stations, that currently mar the appearance of the gateway.
The old Exxon site, literally one of the first things visitors see as they enter Ninth Street from the Route 52 Causeway bridge, had been one of the city’s top concerns. However, the Keller Williams project removes the Exxon eyesore, relieving the city of that responsibility.
Over the summer, the city acquired an abandoned former BP gas station on the opposite side of Ninth Street and had it torn down. The purchase price was $475,000.
City officials have also been in talks about acquiring an empty Getty station next door to the BP site. Bud’s Outboard Marine Inc., another property at the foot of the Ninth Street entryway, also is being eyed by the city.
“We have a rare opportunity right now to acquire properties that would make a difference, and I want to make sure we have full input from the public,” Gillian said in a statement announcing his town meeting.
Taken together, the BP, Getty and Bud’s Outboard Marine sites would create a large expanse of property under the city’s control. The mayor has previously discussed the possibility of using those sites for landscaped open space as well as for parking.
Over the summer, City Council approved an ordinance that gives the town the option to either buy or condemn the Exxon, BP, Getty and Bud’s Outboard Marine sites.
Chiolo initially feared that the ordinance would kill the Keller Williams project, but he said he now realizes that it is simply a precautionary measure that gives the city additional legal safeguards if the office isn’t built. Should the Keller Williams project fall through, the city would be in position to possibly acquire the site.
Chiolo noted that several Council members publicly supported the Keller Williams project and expressed their hope to see the old Exxon site redeveloped by his company.
“I only see positives with that building,” Chiolo said. “It sends a strong message about what Ocean City is all about and what the town expects from its developers.”
Members of City Council stressed over the summer that they would only want to use condemnation as a last resort. They indicated they would prefer to negotiate a deal to buy the properties from the current owners.
The condemnation process would provide additional legal security to protect the city from liability claims if it acquires the sites and contamination is discovered later, Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson explained. The onus for cleaning up the contamination would fall on the previous owners, not the city, McCrosson said.
The Exxon site, meanwhile, is already known to be contaminated with petroleum-related chemicals in the groundwater. The contamination, which is suspected to stem from the station’s former operation, has been monitored for the last 27 years.
Synergy Environmental Inc., a consulting firm overseeing the Exxon site, told surrounding property owners in a letter in July that the contamination poses no public danger and should dissipate by itself.
Chiolo said he recently received a 500-page report from Synergy that concluded the Exxon site would be safe enough for Keller Williams to build its two-story office complex there.
