By MADDY VITALE
A transformation of the Ninth Street corridor in Ocean City has been going on for a few years. The newest addition, a real estate office building for Keller Williams, promises to serve as a commercial centerpiece in the main entryway into town.
Gone are the eyesores — the blighted sites of former gas stations. Over the last couple of years much has changed along the busy gateway, giving visitors and residents some vibrant new options to see.
The city has created landscaped green space to make the corridor more attractive. There has also been construction of a major office building, home to McMahon Insurance Agency and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors. There are other upcoming building projects, including a new Republic Bank.
In about 11 months, another new building, which has been years in the making, will become a reality.
Construction has begun on the project, a new office for the Keller Williams real estate firm. It will feature about 4,800 square feet of space
On Monday afternoon, workers were putting up the steel frame and some masonry for the building.
“We want it to be the focal point when coming over the bridge,” said Paul Chiolo, owner of Keller Williams. “We wanted the opportunity to do justice to that area. My goal is to have it be something special and beautiful. I really believe we have captured something perfect there.”
But the construction phase was a long time coming — since 2016.
There were battles with the city over construction and planning board issues. The project was eventually scaled down from 6,000 square feet to 4,800 square feet.
“It will be a very modest building,” Chiolo said of its size.
He noted that the new building will replace the Keller Williams site at 1 Atlantic Ave. in Ocean City.
While there are multiple sales agents at Keller Williams, only about three people will be at the office full time, due to the nature of the jobs. There will be 20 to 24 parking spaces.
The land purchased by Chiolo and Keller Williams was formerly occupied by an abandoned Exxon gas station that had marred the appearance of the Ninth Street entryway for years.
Keller Williams bought the property for $500,000 and demolished the blighted Exxon station to make room for new construction.
The city, meanwhile, earmarked over $1 million from its budget to clean up the area and made efforts to purchase two other abandoned gas stations. Ultimately, Ocean City partnered with Cape May County to create a landscaped mini-park where the old BP and Getty stations had been on Ninth Street.
The county purchased the old Getty property for $650,000 through an open space grant and leased it back to the city for $1 per year. The former BP station was purchased in 2016 by the city for $475,000. An earlier county open space grant reimbursed the city for the cost of the old BP site.
