Ocean City approves redevelopment plan for blighted condo site

City Council unanimously approved a redevelopment plan Thursday night to help transform the site of Ocean City’s most notorious eyesore into an upscale condominium complex overlooking the 34th Street gateway into town.

The ordinance rezones the property where the blighted Seaspray condos now stand to allow the development of a proposed four-story condominium building that would become a new anchor for the 34th Street corridor.

“Clearly, that Seaspray complex is deplorable,” said Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow, who represents that section of the city. “When people drive into town, the first thing they see is a dilapidated building with a fence around it.”

As it awaits demolition, the hulking Seaspray complex at the corner of 34th Street and Bay Avenue is surrounded by a chain-link construction fence. It has been vacant ever since it was deemed structurally unsafe in 2024. Red tags were slapped on the buildings declaring Seaspray as “unsafe for human occupancy.”

Councilman Keith Hartzell said problems with the Seaspray condos date back at least 20 years. He and the other Council members indicated they are anxious to see the blighted property demolished and redeveloped.

“Thank God. This has been going on since 2005,” Hartzell said of the end finally being in sight for the Seaspray saga.

The HOW Group, a property management and real estate company based in Conshohocken, Pa., is buying the Seaspray site for nearly $6 million and plans to demolish the old condos before the 2026 summer tourism season.

    The Seaspray condominium complex remains abandoned behind a chain-link fence surrounding the property at 34th Street and Bay Avenue.
  

HOW Group had asked the city to designate the site in need of rehabilitation to open the door for a redevelopment plan that would include construction of 43 condo units within the complex.

Renderings of the HOW Group’s project depict a high-end condo building featuring a porte cochere and attractive architectural touches to dress up the exterior.

“It’s going to be a really nice entrance into the city. I can’t wait until it’s done,” Winslow said of the project becoming a new focal point of the 34th Street gateway in the south end of town.

There will be 79 parking spaces at the ground level. A company executive said the 79 parking spots are the maximum number that the HOW Group could fit into the project.

The project will include a series of amenities, including a resort-style pool ringed by private cabanas, an environmentally friendly “green roof,” a fitness center, charging stations for electric vehicles and a dog wash station to let owners bathe their pets in style.

Councilman Sean Barnes, a dog lover who owns a black Labrador retriever named Harbor, called the dog wash station “awesome.”

The green roof, the first of its kind in Ocean City, will feature an assortment of grass, plants and flowers. It will double as a social setting for condo owners, including shaded areas and barbecue pits in the summer and fire pits in winter.

    A new resort-style pool surrounded by private cabanas would be one of the amenities included in the new condo project.
  

John Pack, vice president of development for the HOW Group, said during a Fourth Ward community meeting in November that it will take about three years to finish the new condo project. He estimated the completion date at around the third or fourth quarter of 2028.

“What we’re looking to do today is to build a brand new landmark when you come over that bridge,” Pack said of the condo complex’s impact on the 34th Street entranceway.

The HOW Group has been collaborating with Winslow and other city officials on the project’s design and other elements to give it a “seashore vibe” compatible with Ocean City’s resort atmosphere.

Winslow emphasized the importance of having an attractive condo complex in a high-profile location as efforts continue to rejuvenate what is now the aesthetically challenged 34th Street corridor, the second busiest gateway into Ocean City behind the Route 52 Causeway-Ninth Street entrance.

“I think it’s going to be a wonderful project,” Winslow said.

Prices have not yet been set for the condo units. Pack estimated that two-bedroom units would sell in the mid to high $700,000 range and three-bedroom units would go for around $900,000.

    Red tags placed on the Seaspray buildings declare that the property is “unsafe for human occupancy.”
  

In contrast, the run-down Seaspray buildings date to the 1950s and were originally part of the Seaspray Motel before they were converted into condos in 1981.

Seaspray was shut down by the city’s construction official after some concrete fell from the landing of an exterior stairway at the 32-unit condo complex.

The work needed to return the property to a safe condition was reportedly too expensive for the condominium association. Litigation among the Seaspray condo unit owners resulted in the court appointing a receiver to sell the property.

It was put up for sale in 2024 for $7 million. Pack said the HOW Group is paying $5.96 million to buy it.