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.
2. Cape May County Skate 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
3. Former Christian Brothers Site
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
4. Former Palermo’s Market Site
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.
5. Bourse Building
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
