By MADDY VITALE
The owner of a property he hopes to turn into an upscale condominium project in a key area of Ocean City’s Historic District unveiled revised plans that he says will be aesthetically pleasing and complement the existing neighborhood.
“We are very excited about the project and think it will help improve the visual appearance of the historic downtown area,” Raj Khatiwala, owner of the property at 801 Wesley Ave., said Saturday. “We are committed to improving Ocean City and specifically the downtown area along Eighth and Ninth Streets.”
The existing building at 801 Wesley Ave. is in the city’s Central Business Zone. It was most recently Still Waters Stress Center. For decades, beginning in the 1960s, it was Knight’s Pharmacy, owned and operated by the late Mayor Henry “Bud” Knight.
Prior to that, it was the site of a hotel and went through several name changes. At one point it was the Wesley Arms Hotel.
The Ocean City Historic Preservation Commission will hear plans for demolition of the former pharmacy and construction of the luxury condo units during a meeting on May 3 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
The project is being called “The Wesley” for now, Khatiwala said, noting that the name could change in the future.
He explained some of the plans.
“There will only be four condos built,” Khatiwala said. “Each condo will be approximately 4,000 square feet and each condo will have four parking spaces. This is over the required amount, but we feel that parking is a major concern, so we are over-addressing the concern.”
He also spoke about a commercial component to the project.
“There will also be one commercial condo space that will be about 3,000 square feet,” he added. “And we will not have a rooftop pool.”
Khatiwala emphasized that initial plans that were reported on March 31 in OCNJDaily.com were much different than what is currently proposed. William McLees, whose business is in Somers Point, is the architect.
Earlier plans, as listed on Zillow.com and in a packet of documents on the city’s website, showed a larger-scale project.
The plans had included not one, as in the current plan, but up to three commercial condominiums and five, as opposed to four, luxury residential units and a rooftop swimming pool.
The proposal must be heard by the Historic Preservation Commission because it is within the Historic District.
The Historic District stretches between Third and Eighth streets and Central and Ocean avenues. Homes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries line the streets.
The district is governed by ordinances designed to preserve the character of the neighborhoods near the Ocean City Tabernacle, where Ocean City was founded and first settled.
In the area around 801 Wesley Ave., there are businesses mixed in with residential homes, Ken Cooper, vice president of the Historic Preservation Commission, explained in the March article of OCNJDaily.com.
He also explained, while not discussing specific details of the proposed project, that despite the existing property being over 50 years old, it in itself is not a “contributing structure” in the Historic District.
“There is nothing wrong with the building. We don’t like teardowns, but that is not a contributing structure,” Cooper pointed out of the brick building at 801 Wesley Ave. “We look at anything from 1879 to the 1920s. That is the period that we cover.”
