Highrise Hotels: The New “Doo Wop” Catalyst?

[AnthonyV]

wildre:

I also don't think that the new hotels would have a negative impact of business around here.

I asked my aunt this question this morning and she didn''t even have to think about the answer. She was a long time realtor at Daniels before retiring this late last year and knows her stuff about as well as anyone in the real estate industry down here.

In Wildwood Crest, it was reported that according to a survey based on most major realtor information, only 3% of ALL condo owners down here would be willing to break up the normal weekly summer block rentals for shorter 3-4 day weekends during summer. The percentage went up a little when asked about renting during weekends in the off-season.

But that was back in 2001. She didn't know if things have changed or not. If they did, she doubts it's anything noticeable because a shorter weekend stay at a condo would not be enough for owners financially and it impeded heavily on the rest of their rental season.

Plus realtors could not collect enough of a booking fee from just a weekend stay from the condo owners in 2001 that would have made it financially practical. So far it's still something that these owners have pretty much turned their backs on...The owners bought these overpriced condos with a plan and now are finding out how difficult it is to secure a solid season of bookings that was assumed would pay for a lot of their mortgages in a productive manner.

Kind of breaks your heart doesn't it? You gotta' feel the condo owners pain. Knowing that makes the loss of all the old motels a little easier to take...

As for the Rio coming down - it's going to be difficult for people who come in from Rio Grande in summer not be welcomed by the familiar site of the Rio Motel anymore...

[wildre]

Anthony,
Yes, those rented condo's by Real Estate Agents, would have difficulty with 3/4 night rentals.
I do all my own booking mostly online, so I have more flexibility.
It's going to be painful coming in and looking at the constuction site. Then again the entire Island is under construction is some form or another.

re

[AnthonyV]

re:

In your opinion, is booking over the internet less difficult than going through a realtor?

I noticed that almost every realty office along the shore now seems to do a lot of business on-line for rentals...How has working off the internet been for you personally so far?

[DooWopper]

Did anyone ever wonder about the support these hotels will need to ever be erected. When I say support I mean foundation. These highrise monsters will find no bedrock to complete a solid foundation.
Sand is all we got here!
I assume a domino effect will occur when one hihgrise topples to the next to the next to the next...crushing all below.
How terrible it was to see the Tropicana's parking structure fall and kill people.
Imagine we'll have 20 more stories above that parking structure in Wildwood to worry about.
I guess the Mayor will have more concrete business then..huh Ernie?

[ContessaAnisha]

That's why pile driving is used...to create a foundation. Seems the big Casinos (30+ stories)in AC haven't fell over yet. The Trop garage was not a problem with the foundation.

[Doowopper]

Large hotels are built in the sandy soil all the time. If I'm correct the person above me has the construction method correct. I think it's large piles put into the ground by one of those large hydraulic hammers. (please note I'm not the same person as the other (DooWopper) who just brought this thread back.

[ContessaAnisha]

Yes...living here at the Shore, I see many piles being driven into the sand to create foundations for the buildings. The Wildwood Convention Center is sitting on a field of them.
The bridges onto the Barrer Islands are also on pilings. I read the route 52 causeway(9th Street) into Ocean City may be closed when the piles are driven for the new bridge/causeway beginning in January. This happened with the Longport/OC bridge. The pounding made bits of the old Longport bridge crumble. The bridge had to be closed while the piles were placed.

How come there are two DooWoppers?

[Doowopper]

I have no clue. I'm the original one though lol!

[ContessaAnisha]

I suppose if there is a place for a number of DooWoppers, it's here!!

[MMM]

The "other" one capitalized the "W" in his username. That's probably why the board software accepted it, even though the name was basically "taken" already.

[homer]

Each High rise motel should be looked at based on the merits of its plan. There are currently three plans proposed, to my knowledge. Two of those seem like appropriate designs: the Nouveau Wave and the Wildwood Beach. The third, the Waypoint Beach Club, seems to be a half-baked design stuffed on the fringes of the new HM zone in Wildwood. The board should shoot down this plan. Highly unlikely, though.
As to the concerns about building on sand, just look at Atlantic City. (The parking garage collapse had absolutely nothing to do with the foundation. In fact, the structure remained intact when the upper floors of the garage collapsed...a tragedy, for sure, but not caused by building on sand.)

[homer]

News Flash:
A fourth high rise "condo-tel" is being planned.
It sounds as if it is going to be even worse than the third ("Waypoint Beach Club") as far as impact on the town. The lot is 2/3 the size of Waypoint and the same height. The parking garages are not even large enough to accomodate appropriate ramps. All traffic will have to enter and exit garages via elevators--just like those scary garages in the really bad sections of NYC.
Wildwood's Mayor has been sold a bill of goods on these (last two) high-rises. He's either stupid or corrupt or both.
HELP!

[Al Alven]

Thanks, as always, for passing along this information, homer.

Where, exactly, is this fourth proposed highrise set to be located?

[homer]

alalven said:

Thanks, as always, for passing along this information, homer.

Where, exactly, is this fourth proposed highrise set to be located?

Ocean Ave. between Leaming and Bennett.
Goodbye, "Starfire" ...Goodbye "LuFran"

[Al Alven]

homer said:

alalven said:

Thanks, as always, for passing along this information, homer.

Where, exactly, is this fourth proposed highrise set to be located?

Ocean Ave. between Leaming and Bennett.
Goodbye, "Starfire" ...Goodbye "LuFran"

That's, what, a block or so north of the Windward on Ocean Ave.?

As I've mentioned before, I don't really have a problem with this location -- on Ocean Ave., in the proximity of Rio Grande Ave., and directly across from the Boardwalk/Convention Center.

A much "safer" bet than the proposed site of the Waypoint Beach Club -- Atlantic and Spicer/Spencer -- which I am much more sceptical of.

Still, the addition of a third highrise condotel on Ocean Ave. and a FOURTH overall might be a case of the Wildwoods biting off more than it can chew.

homer mentioned the logistics above. I hope Mayor Troiano and his staff are planning properly for this, and aren't just getting caught up in a "wave" of emotion and blind excitement over these massive projects.