By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
The main entrance to the new four-story building at the corner of Sixth Street and West Avenue features a glossy facade that suggests an air of exclusivity.
Inside, the polished, hardwood-like floors have no scuff marks. Kitchen appliances and countertops glisten.
A peek outside the windows on the top floor reveals expansive views of Ocean City’s skyline, the Boardwalk amusement rides and the bay. If you look hard enough, even a tiny bit of the ocean comes into view on the east side of the building.
The scenery and the building itself may seem like luxury accommodations, but this is actually an affordable housing complex built for senior citizens by the Ocean City Housing Authority.
“It’s affordable public housing, but it doesn’t look that way,” said Jacqueline Jones, the authority’s executive director. “It’s not your typical public housing building.”
Dubbed Speitel Commons, the newly completed 32-unit building has taken the place of the aging, flood-prone Pecks Beach Village project on Fourth Street that formerly served as the home for some of the housing authority’s senior citizens.
Rick Ginnetti, owner of the Brooke Group, a consulting company that helped oversee the development of Speitel Commons, stressed that no resident living in Ocean City Housing Authority buildings should ever have to worry about flooding again.
“The idea is to eliminate every resident in the housing authority from living in a flood plain,” Ginnetti said.
Speitel Commons represents a dramatic upgrade from the cottage-style Pecks Beach Village apartments that are believed to date to the 1960s.
The building features three floors of living space on top of a covered parking garage on the street level. It stands next to the five-story Bayview Manor, another affordable housing complex for senior citizens that is currently being renovated by the housing authority.
“It’s important to say that we have not ignored Bayview,” Jones said of the refurbishment of the 49-unit building.
Once the renovations are completed to Bayview, it will be considered a companion to the Speitel Commons complex.
“We’re calling this a campus,” Ginnetti said.
The two buildings will share facilities, including a community center for their residents. In addition, the first floor of Bayview will serve as an administrative office for the housing authority.
In July 2019, the housing authority awarded a $6.9 million contract to Gary F. Gardner Inc. of Medford, N.J., to build Speitel Commons. The building is named in honor of the late housing authority commissioner Edmond C. Speitel Sr., who was influential in the project’s development.
“It’s the culmination of Ed Speitel’s dream to bring something like this to Ocean City. This was his baby,” said City Council President Bob Barr, who also serves as chairman of the housing authority’s board of commissioners.
During a tour of the building, Jones and Ginnetti showcased some of the architectural touches that give the complex an upscale appearance, including a glossy main entrance accented by towering windows that bathe the lobby in natural light.
Ginnetti said the building remains about $200,000 to $300,000 under budget. The housing authority has had extra money on hand to make some construction changes that have benefited the residents.
For instance, the laundry rooms were redesigned to include big windows that draw in plenty of natural light and provide nice views outside of the building, Jones and Ginnetti noted.
There are other features that create the appearance of higher-end living. The hallways include luxury vinyl plank flooring that looks like hardwood.
“You think it is hardwood. It looks fantastic,” Jones said.
Each unit consists of one bedroom. The units include a kitchen with nicely appointed cabinets and Formica countertops that, at first glance, almost look like granite.
“Look at these cabinets. They are fantastic,” Jones said.
All of the bathrooms include grab bars in the tub, shower and near the toilet to make them safer for senior citizens.
Ocean City residents were given first preference for the units. Rents are based on approximately 30 percent of a resident’s annual income.
Currently, the waiting list for the units is closed. More information is available at the Ocean City Housing Authority website at oceancityha.org.
Jones believes the housing complex blends in well with the rest of the surrounding downtown neighborhood, an enclave of retail, commercial and public buildings that include the Ocean City Fire Department headquarters across the street.
“All in all, we’re pleased with the outcome,” she said.
Barr also characterized the new building as an attractive addition to Ocean City.
“It’s something that I’m really proud of,” he said. “That was our goal — for people to drive by and not know it was affordable housing.”
Speitel Commons also has an array of surveillance cameras and other security features to add to the building’s safety.
A huge part of the building’s safety is its construction above flood levels. It was built about 17 feet above the flood zone, Jones and Ginnetti explained.
“They’re safe here. There’s no living in a flood zone,” Jones said.
In 2019, City Council approved a $6.6 million bond ordinance to build or rehabilitate affordable housing sites for senior citizens and low-income families. The projects will help Ocean City meet its state-mandated obligation to provide its “fair share” of affordable housing as part of a court settlement in 2018.
The city contributed more than $2 million toward the Speitel Commons project, while the New Jersey Housing Mortgage and Finance Agency provided $4.5 million in funding.
Jones said Mayor Jay Gillian enthusiastically supported the development of Speitel Commons.
Now that Speitel Commons has been completed, the 20-unit Pecks Beach Village senior-citizen complex on the north side of Fourth Street will be demolished to make room for the development of new affordable housing units for families.
Families are now living in the aging, 40-unit Pecks Beach Village development on the south side of Fourth Street. The family units are not as vulnerable to flooding as the senior citizen units.
Eventually, the plan is to also demolish the existing family units in Pecks Beach Village to create space for a new 60-unit complex of affordable housing for families.
Ginnetti said the estimated $22 million to $23 million project remains in the early stages, including identifying possible funding sources. Construction may possibly start in 2023 and take about 14 to 18 months to complete, he said.
