By MADDY VITALE
An acre of land may not seem like much if it is out in the country.
But an acre of property in Ocean City means many possibilities for the owner, especially when it is a prime piece of real estate adjacent to the Boardwalk.
The property, at 821 E. Eighth Street and the rear section of 748 Boardwalk, which operated as a 140-space parking lot, was sold in November by Central Boardwalk Parking LLC of Farmington, Conn., to an investment group, Plymouth Holdings LLC, for $4.25 million.
The area is in the city's Hospitality Zone. While the new owners could potentially build condos or a new hotel on the beach block Hospitality Zone, they have decided, at least for now, to keep it as a parking lot, said real estate agent Gina Farruggio, who handled the sale for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors in New Hope, Pa.
“I was excited for the sellers and the buyers,” Farruggio, who is also a licensed realtor in New Jersey, noted in an interview Tuesday. “I had multiple offers on the property."
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The property went up for sale in the spring of 2019, originally for $4.95 million. Central Boardwalk Parking LLC owned the property since 2017, Farruggio said.
The rarity of an acre of land for sale in the Hospitality Zone was one of the things that made the property stand out and be such an attractive investment, Farruggio pointed out.
Specifically, the land is located behind the Promenade Food Court adjacent to the Boardwalk. The area is bustling with tourists in the summer into the shoulder season. The parking lot allows the owners to generate income without overhead expenses.
“We will see if they keep it as a parking lot,” Farruggio said. “But it is in the Hospitality Zone and they could do a lot with the property.”
Farruggio said the property would have sold much sooner, had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented realtors from showing properties for a time.
"Once all of the restrictions from the pandemic lifted, and things started going back to normal, we got multiple offers and they went with the people who wanted to keep it as a parking lot,” she said.
