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Post by Doowopper on Feb 2, 2005 16:41:47 GMT -5
From what iv'e learned there are going to be two new hotels in the Wildwoods, one going where the Wildwood Diner is, and the other where the Rio is. What do you know about them?
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Post by Wildre on Feb 2, 2005 17:50:36 GMT -5
From the Atlantic City Press
January 27, 2005
Real estate prices, building heights soar in Wildwood By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716, E-Mail
WILDWOOD - The city plans to increase the permitted height of buildings in the hotel/motel district, roughly the area east of Atlantic Avenue between Cresse and Schellenger avenues, to 250 feet. That's up from the current height of 128 feet currently allowed by city ordinance.
An ordinance allowing the new height was introduced Wednesday at a City Commission meeting.
The change comes after one new hotel, the 283-foot Nouveau Wave Hotel, received city approval to be built at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Rio Grande Boulevard, where the Rio Motel now sits.
During the public portion of the meeting, resident Elaine Wilson questioned the jump in height for new hotels and suggested the taller buildings would be out of scale with Wildwood, where the tallest building is the 12-story Sandman Towers.
Wilson said she was concerned that the new 25-story buildings might end up failing in the resort long known for its small, family-owned motels.
"Suppose this doesn't pan out," Wilson asked. "You have the new convention center, which hasn't been overflowing."
But Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. said the bigger hotels with modern amenities are exactly what Wildwood and the Wildwoods Convention Center need to draw new business.
He said the island has lost conventions looking for high-end accommodations.
As the island loses its motels to new construction, Troiano said Wildwood was "just trying to pick up the slack."
Wilson also urged Troiano and the commissioners not to offer tax abatements for new construction as long as residents have to bear the burden of property taxes.
Troiano said he was not considering giving out tax abatements to anyone at this time.
Resident Tony Totah echoed Wilson's comments and added that the revaluation has only hurt longtime property owners who saw their assessments and their tax bills go up.
Troiano said the increasing home values are a plus and a better trend than having the value of the island's homes go down.
He said the City Commission was working to control the budget, but the assessments were a function of an insatiable real estate market that had until recently ignored Wildwood.
Totah said the assessments were driving some people off the island, but Troiano said the city had little to do with the value investors were placing on Wildwood.
"The value of the land is what's driving the economy," Troiano said.
To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:
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Post by Al Alven on Feb 2, 2005 18:01:12 GMT -5
No prob, doowopper…<br> The new building going up at the Wildwood Diner’s old location will be a condo/hotel (“condotel” is a popular, emerging term), roughly 5-6 stories tall. The good news is that it is being designed to respect the Doo Wop character of the island and, thus, will incorporate many mid-century architectural elements (shape, color, signage, etc.).
I have not heard of a permanent or proposed name for this new building yet, but I believe it is still scheduled to be open at some point this summer.
As for the new building going up in place of the Rio Motel, well, it has certainly been the topic of much discussion and debate (not to mention controversy) on the island. The proposed name of the project is the Nouveau Wave Hotel. It is scheduled to be a (get this) 25 story, nearly 290 ft. “condotel” that will essentially dwarf every other building on the island.
The Nouveau Wave will also reportedly include some spectacular Doo Wop-style elements, as it is being designed to be both a trademark building for the future of Wildwood and a major accessory to the new (well, I guess it’s not really so “new” anymore) Convention Center on the Boardwalk nearby.
Hope this info helps!
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