A post-summer drive through Ocean City shows plenty of construction activity as crews take advantage of summer-like weather.
Here are updates to five prominent projects in town.
1. Playland Roller Coasters
The new GaleForce roller coaster is expected to be ready to ride by spring 2016.
Crews started work Thursday dismantling the Python and Flitzer roller coasters at Playland's Castaway Cove (10th Street and Boardwalk).
The rides are coming down to make room for the 125-foot tall GaleForce, a roller coaster thrill ride featuring a 64-mph launch and a beyond-90-degree drop. Read more and see video preview:
New Roller Coaster Thrill Coming to Ocean City in 2016.
At the site on Thursday, workers said the demolition job would take about a week, and that working near the ocean always makes it harder to get nuts and bolts to come loose.
Work constructing the new ride is expected to start early in 2016 and be complete by spring.
A crane lifts pieces of a roller coaster at Playland's Castaway Cove as the ride gets dismantled on Thursday, Sept. 17.
2. Cape May County Skate Park in Ocean City
Fencing and sod are two of the last pieces of work on the new skateboard park in Ocean City.
Landscaping crews on Wednesday and Thursday planted trees and shrubbery, then laid sod around the perimeter of the new skateboard park on the 500 block between West and Asbury avenues.
The city is finalizing inspections and insurance requirements, and it remains a good possibility that the park will be open to skaters by the end of the month.
The new $750,000 state-of-the-art concrete facility has been more than a year in the making and replaces a park that was closed in 2011 due to safety concerns.
Read more:
Skate Park in Ocean City a Few Weeks Away From Completion
New trees and bushes surrounding the skateboard park will provide a buffer to sight and sound from the park.
3. Former Christian Brothers Site
The two three-story Christian Brothers retreat buildings on Central Avenue between 30th and 31st streets were demolished in April 2014.
The first of four massive residential properties is taking shape at the site of the former De La Salle Christian Brothers Ocean Rest Educational Center at 31st Street and Central Avenue.
The three-story oceanfront retreat stood as a local landmark for more than a century, but the Catholic order that owns the property could not afford the multimillion-dollar renovation that would be necessary to make the building habitable and code-compliant.
The Christian Brothers' new plan calls for using their private property to develop four residential properties that conform with existing residential zoning. The lots extend from Central Avenue to the beach. The building that is going up has 14 bedrooms, and the Brothers will keep that property for continued use as a retreat. They will sell the other three as duplexes.
Read more:
Christian Brothers Retreat Disappears From Ocean City Skyline
One of four massive new residential properties is taking shape on Thursday where the Christian Brothers retreat stood — at the corner of 31st Street and Asbury Avenue.
4. Former Palermo's Market Site
The Palermo's Family Market, a former Thriftway, had been closed since 2009. at the corner of Fourth Street and Asbury Avenue in Ocean City, before it was demolished in August.
Demolition of the former Palermo's Family Market at the corner of Fourth Street and Asbury Avenue is complete, and a sign lists properties for sale starting at $429,000.
The site will be home to seven duplexes with construction beginning this fall after the site is remediated and tested for the cleanup of an oil spill from old tanks on the property.
Each unit of the new properties will include three bedrooms, about 1,200 square feet of living space and garage parking.
Read more:
Developer Shows Plans for Palermo's Market Property.
Construction is expected to begin this fall on the now-vacant lot at the corner of Fourth Street and Asbury Avenue.
5. Bourse Building
The sidewalk and metered parking beside the Bourse Building on Eighth Street near the Asbury Avenue intersection were barricaded as a precautionary measure in March 2015.
The side facade of the Bourse Building at Eighth Street and Asbury Avenue continues to be replaced on Thursday.
The area was cordoned off in March when it was noticed that bricks of the three-story building above the sidewalk were bulging outward. The damage was limited to the facade.
The Bourse Building was constructed in 1895 and was originally home to Frank Darby Real Estate, Maddock’s Pharmacy, and Hole in the Wall by the Sea Light Lunch, according to Michael McMahon, an Ocean City Historical Museum trustee. It later was home to the first national chain store in Ocean City: G.C Murphy’s 5 & 10, which opened circa 1930.
Read more:
Sidewalk Closed Underneath Bulging Building at 8th and Asbury
Construction crews work on the side of the Bourse Building at Eighth Street and Asbury Avenue on Thursday.
The new GaleForce roller coaster is expected to be ready to ride by spring 2016.
Crews started work Thursday dismantling the Python and Flitzer roller coasters at Playland's Castaway Cove (10th Street and Boardwalk).
The rides are coming down to make room for the 125-foot tall GaleForce, a roller coaster thrill ride featuring a 64-mph launch and a beyond-90-degree drop. Read more and see video preview: New Roller Coaster Thrill Coming to Ocean City in 2016.
At the site on Thursday, workers said the demolition job would take about a week, and that working near the ocean always makes it harder to get nuts and bolts to come loose.
Work constructing the new ride is expected to start early in 2016 and be complete by spring.
Fencing and sod are two of the last pieces of work on the new skateboard park in Ocean City.
Landscaping crews on Wednesday and Thursday planted trees and shrubbery, then laid sod around the perimeter of the new skateboard park on the 500 block between West and Asbury avenues.
The city is finalizing inspections and insurance requirements, and it remains a good possibility that the park will be open to skaters by the end of the month.
The new $750,000 state-of-the-art concrete facility has been more than a year in the making and replaces a park that was closed in 2011 due to safety concerns.
Read more: Skate Park in Ocean City a Few Weeks Away From Completion
The two three-story Christian Brothers retreat buildings on Central Avenue between 30th and 31st streets were demolished in April 2014.
The first of four massive residential properties is taking shape at the site of the former De La Salle Christian Brothers Ocean Rest Educational Center at 31st Street and Central Avenue.
The three-story oceanfront retreat stood as a local landmark for more than a century, but the Catholic order that owns the property could not afford the multimillion-dollar renovation that would be necessary to make the building habitable and code-compliant.
The Christian Brothers' new plan calls for using their private property to develop four residential properties that conform with existing residential zoning. The lots extend from Central Avenue to the beach. The building that is going up has 14 bedrooms, and the Brothers will keep that property for continued use as a retreat. They will sell the other three as duplexes.
Read more: Christian Brothers Retreat Disappears From Ocean City Skyline
The Palermo's Family Market, a former Thriftway, had been closed since 2009. at the corner of Fourth Street and Asbury Avenue in Ocean City, before it was demolished in August.
Demolition of the former Palermo's Family Market at the corner of Fourth Street and Asbury Avenue is complete, and a sign lists properties for sale starting at $429,000.
The site will be home to seven duplexes with construction beginning this fall after the site is remediated and tested for the cleanup of an oil spill from old tanks on the property.
Each unit of the new properties will include three bedrooms, about 1,200 square feet of living space and garage parking.
Read more: Developer Shows Plans for Palermo's Market Property.
The sidewalk and metered parking beside the Bourse Building on Eighth Street near the Asbury Avenue intersection were barricaded as a precautionary measure in March 2015.
The side facade of the Bourse Building at Eighth Street and Asbury Avenue continues to be replaced on Thursday.
