By MADDY VITALE
There is a bidding war of sorts going on for the landmark Crown Bank building at the corner of Eighth Street and Asbury Avenue in downtown Ocean City.
The building listed for $7 million is in bankruptcy court in Camden before Judge Andrew B. Altenburg Jr.
Eustace Mita, of Icona Resorts, offered to buy the building at 801 Asbury Ave. for $6.5 million as part of his plan to transform the property into a luxury boutique hotel.
Mita is no stranger to building high-end establishments. He owns beach resorts in Avalon, Cape May and Diamond Beach under the Icona Resorts brand.
On Wednesday, Ray Patella, an attorney for the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee Brian Thomas, confirmed that another offer came in, this time from local real estate investor Raj Khatiwala and his brother, Yogi, under Ocean City Crown Holdings LLC.
“We received another offer on Monday for $6.675 million from Crown Holdings LLC,” Patella said.
Patella said it is a wait-and-see process in bankruptcy court. The matter is in court on Dec. 20, at which time a decision could be made about the sale of the building.
A hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday was postponed until Dec. 20 due to the judge’s scheduling. Patella noted that it had nothing to do with the newest offer.
“The hearing is on the 20th and we will see what happens,” Patella said. “Anyone can come in and make a higher and better offer. It is yet to be determined what the court will do.”
Raj Khatiwala, of Ocean City, did not wish to comment at this time.
The Khatiwalas are founders of Eclat Investments, according to the company’s website, eclatinvestments.com.
They own several properties in town.
Among their Ocean City businesses are The Scarborough Inn, The Beach House, The Pavilion, The Forum, Bluewater Inn Hotel and Ocean Breeze Hotel.
They also own Stainton’s A Gallery of Shops in the downtown and Stainton’s Gallery by the Sea on the Boardwalk.
In addition to those properties, they are proposing to build a luxury condo project at 801 Wesley Ave. near the city’s Historic District.
Besides Mita and the Khatiwalas, the city has expressed interest in the property to possibly use as a temporary police station while building a new public safety building.
City spokesman Doug Bergen said that since the bankruptcy hearing involves private property, “the city has no standing to participate in any way.”
He added, “The administration will wait to see if a sale is approved in bankruptcy court before considering any further action.”
The six-story Crown Bank building dates to 1925. It is a 33,440-square-foot concrete building consisting of five floors and a mezzanine area.
The property also includes five parking lots.
There are multiple potential uses for the parcel.
“Subject to municipal approvals, possible future uses for the building include, but are not limited to: downtown luxury hotel use; residential condoing; nursing home/senior housing use; dormitory for J-1 Visa students,” according to a description on real estate websites.
