The house at 844 Central Ave. dates to 1898, according to online real estate records.
Only two months after acquiring two privately owned parking lots, Ocean City will dabble in the real estate market again by buying a three-story home next door to City Hall.
City Council introduced a $750,000 bond ordinance Thursday night to acquire the old house at 844 Central Ave., just steps from the corner of Ninth Street and Central in the heart of the downtown business district.
A public hearing and final vote by Council on the funding package are scheduled for Nov. 21.
Once the city completes the purchase, the short-term plan is to use the house as office space, but over the long haul it might be demolished to create more parking spaces next to City Hall, city officials said.
“It gives the city options. It seems that could be a natural location for parking, but that hasn’t been decided yet,” City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson said in an interview after the Council meeting.
Online real estate records indicate that the house was built in 1898. The property has functioned for decades as both retail and residential space under a succession of owners, McCrosson said.
City tax records show the building is currently owned by SaltWorks LLC, a custom framing business that occupies the first floor. McCrosson said the owner of SaltWorks approached the city with the idea of having the city buy it.
“So we’re working cooperatively with (the owner) in negotiating the price and negotiating the terms,” McCrosson told the Council members.
City Council introduces a $750,000 bond ordinance to buy the house.McCrosson noted that the owner pitched the idea of selling the house to the city after learning that the city had agreed in September to purchase two privately owned parking lots next to City Hall for $3.3 million.
The two parking lots include a total of 44 spaces. They are located adjacent to the existing 71-space municipal parking lot behind City Hall along Central Avenue between Eighth and Ninth streets.
City officials say the two new lots will provide much-needed public parking for the downtown retail district, as well as for the city’s police department during the renovation of its headquarters building on Central Avenue between Eighth and Ninth streets.
The antiquated public safety building, a former school that dates to the late 1800s, will be modernized and expanded for the police department. The estimated $30 million project is expected to get underway in 2025 and be completed in 2026, according to a tentative timetable.
The old house that the city is acquiring at 844 Central Ave. is across the street from the public safety building. Doug Bergen, the city’s public information officer, mentioned the possibility of using the house as a construction office during the renovation of the police headquarters.
