The vacant land next to the Ocean City Community Center, in background, isn't much to look at now.
How about an amphitheater? Or maybe an outdoor pool or skating rink? Or possibly affordable housing?
There is no shortage of ideas from the public for transforming property that Ocean City recently acquired for $20 million into some type of communitywide attraction.
Mayor Jay Gillian announced Friday that the city has received 170 suggestions so far for how best to use the vacant land next to the Ocean City Community Center.
“The ideas are thoughtful, constructive and sincere, and I want to thank everybody who took the time to share their thoughts,” he said in a statement.
Gillian explained that the suggestions vary widely but fall roughly into three categories: open space and passive recreation, including features such as trails, gardens, fountains and amphitheaters; active recreation, including attractions such as an outdoor pool, skating rink, pickleball courts or fields; and practical uses such as additional parking or affordable housing.
The city is soliciting feedback from the public as it begins the planning process for the block of land bordered by Haven and Simpson avenues between 16th and 17th streets next to the Community Center.
Gillian said the city wants to incorporate the land into a corridor of publicly owned open space stretching from 15th Street to 20th Street. He noted that the city will collaborate with the school district.
A housing project was considered for the property before the city acquired it for open space.The mayor pointed out that different ideas could possibly be implemented in different parts of the public corridor – with the public playing a major role in determining its fate.
“The city team is in the process now of updating its capital plans and will likely work with a professional planner to incorporate as many of your ideas as possible,” Gillian said in his statement.
He added that he looks forward to continuing to work with the public as plans take shape.
Ocean City acquired the land using its power of eminent domain to preserve it as open space protected from dense housing construction.
Following a lengthy court fight over the value of the land, the city paid $20 million to the previous owners, brothers Jerry and Harry Klause of Klause Enterprises.
At one point, Klause Enterprises proposed building 22 single-family homes on the land, prompting the city to step in to acquire it.
“We acted initially to protect the entire city block from residential development before it was too late. But now we can take our time to make sure we get this right. This area will be a community treasure for generations to come,” Gillian said.
The city originally sought to buy the land for $9 million. However, the case went to court over the value of the land. In October 2023, a jury decided that the city should pay Klause Enterprises nearly $17.9 million for the property. Interest payments on top of the nearly $17.9 million pushed the total amount to $20 million, City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson said.
The property was best known as the former site of the Perry-Egan auto dealership. The dealership’s old showroom was demolished, followed by the city’s environment cleanup work on the site, to create the vacant land that now awaits a transformation.
The former Perry-Egan auto dealership showroom, shown here in 2018, was demolished to clear the site at 16th Street and Haven Avenue.
