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Post by Wild Wood on Feb 20, 2005 19:40:06 GMT -5
Frank
Take a deep breath and relax.
My point is the Ocean City has three times the amount of condos as Wildwood and has managed to survive. You are also wrong about me. I have nothing do with real-estate sales in any way but yes I do own a condo. The difference between you and I is that I was willing to take a chance in 1998 in an attempt to bring back the Wildwood of old. You spend one week a year in the city and think you own it. Or better yet you sit behind your computer and complain.
Little history lesson; In 1997 Wildwood was just about bankrupt. The state made a last ditched effort to help the city by announcing plans to build the convention center. Duplex’s on the east side were going for $50,000.00 I and a few friends decided to purchase several homes in an attempt to fulfill a life long dream of owing a house at the shore. We did this by taking second mortgages on our homes. We were all blue collar city workers who decided to take a big chance in an attempt to help a city that we had so much fun in while growing up. We all were very fortunate in what happened the following years. GREED has nothing to do with this story just luck. Now it’s your turn, tell me what you are going to do to improve the Wildwoods besides sit in front of your computer. My bet is you aren’t even a tax payer in NJ. Philadelphia right ?
As far as me going away I don’t think so. I’ve earned the right to voice my opinion about the Wildwoods, How about you.
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Post by AnthonyV on Feb 20, 2005 19:40:55 GMT -5
I am sure that the condo craze is simply a matter of developers offering and being able to give whatever price the motel owners are asking...And while I do not like it, the offer's are probably way simply too good for anyone to pass up.
The question is when will enough be enough? And how will Wildwood suffer by not being able to promote their identifying feature (Doo Wop motels) in the future when most of these original properties will probably be gone?
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Post by FlyinGN on Feb 20, 2005 19:50:39 GMT -5
you have NO clue about me OR what I have invested in WW. So unless you decide to take a passive approach here and LEARN a little about what this forum is about.. I kindly ask you NOT top post and start problems.. like I said doo wopper.. ban him.. we will all be better off.. he obviously is flame baiting us.. Frank Frank Take a deep breath and relax. My point is the Ocean City has three times the amount of condos as Wildwood and has managed to survive. You are also wrong about me. I have nothing do with real-estate sales in any way but yes I do own a condo. The difference between you and I is that I was willing to take a chance in 1998 in an attempt to bring back the Wildwood of old. You spend one week a year in the city and think you own it. Or better yet you sit behind your computer and complain. Little history lesson; In 1997 Wildwood was just about bankrupt. The state made a last ditched effort to help the city by announcing plans to build the convention center. Duplex’s on the east side were going for $50,000.00 I and a few friends decided to purchase several homes in an attempt to fulfill a life long dream of owing a house at the shore. We did this by taking second mortgages on our homes. We were all blue collar city workers who decided to take a big chance in an attempt to help a city that we had so much fun in while growing up. We all were very fortunate in what happened the following years. GREED has nothing to do with this story just luck. Now it’s your turn, tell me what you are going to do to improve the Wildwoods besides sit in front of your computer. My bet is you aren’t even a tax payer in NJ. Philadelphia right ? As far as me going away I don’t think so. I’ve earned the right to voice my opinion about the Wildwoods, How about you.
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Post by Wild Wood on Feb 20, 2005 20:44:46 GMT -5
Let me get this correct. You want to have me banned here simply because I have a different opinion that yours. But it’s ok to call me and other people
Greedy, a theft, the reason the merchants are failing, and connected to the mob, simply because we are condo owners. Talk about opinionated and trying to cause trouble.
What right do you, I, or anyone else have in the decision of a motel owner to sell to developers or to stay in business. If your logic was used in Philadelphia the Phillies would still be playing in Connie Mack, and the Eagle’s at Baker Field. The last time I checked the Wildwoods were still in America, the land of opportunity and freedom of speech.
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Post by AnthonyV on Feb 20, 2005 21:17:11 GMT -5
I would at least like to see some motel owners try to come up ideas to incorporate condos along with their motels if possible. At least replace an old motel with some type of new or revised motel structure if possible.
I don't want to see the Wildwoods become another Ocean City...Wildwood is not Ocean City and was not forged on the same notions and ideas as Ocean City. If I wanted to visit a place like Ocean City I would go to Ocean City. Ocean City might have three times the amount of condos as the Wildwoods has but Ocean City never had the large amount of mid-century motels that Wildwood had. In fact the actual numbr of Ocean City motels knocked down to make way for condos happens to be a mere fraction of the motels once found in the Wildwoods and not even close to the total number of buildings demolished in the Wildwoods just over the last four years.
My family made a bundle selling off vacant land and doing business in Cape May - much of it in Wildwood Crest - and I'll be honest, I'm sure much of it was done in the name of greed. Knowing people in my family I'm SURE it was done for greedy reasons as sad as it might sound. But I would never deny anyone the right to make money if that's what they want. But not at the cost of destroying an important element of the communities past at such a rapid rate.
But there should be some type of a master plan considered to preserve whatever can be preserved and improved whatever can be impproved for the future based on the past using these original motels.
If new buildings must be built at least make them conform to a specific style that is in line with Wildwoods culture and surroundings.
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Post by MMM on Feb 20, 2005 22:12:44 GMT -5
I have no problem with an owner of a business, be it a motel or whatever, wanting to sell. They own it - they're allowed . The problems come when whatever people of prominence in the Wildwoods allow the structure on the property being sold to be destroyed. We should not be allowing new owners to buy something for demolition. The zoning laws seem to be VERY important in this matter. Seling is OK, but we need strict laws that are followed and enforced to preserve these unique places for the future. New and existing motel owners need to keep their businesses in nice condition so they are desirable places that people will want to stay at, which will then in turn be good for the Wildwoods as a whole, and good for their income. Any necessary repairs/renovations/additions/etc. need to be in keeping with the spirit of the existing structure and what makes it special. I don't know how many of you here have the Doo-Wop Preservation Society's Guidelines Handbook, but if you do, take a look at page 62-63 to see what IMO should have happened to the Satellite Motel if it needed to become condos. But no, buried is better. This could have been a unique complex, that would have had differentation in the market and at the same time be in keeping & appropriate with the Doo Wop architecture that is such an important part of what makes the Wildwoods a unique, special place, and would have built on its history without destroying it.
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Post by AnthonyV on Feb 20, 2005 22:20:15 GMT -5
MMM: Beautifully stated!
I'll certainly try to get hold of a copy of the DWPLs book you mentioned. I sounds like it says some important things that should be consdered as an alternative to what all has been taking place in Wildwood.
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Post by wildre on Feb 21, 2005 10:10:20 GMT -5
One problem IMHO seems to be it takes almost a year to get a new ordinance passed and on the books. Let's face it, our elected officals on the Island, aren't use to all this building and have now clue how to manage it. I doubt they ever heard of long range planning, and they are unprepared to deal with the growth. Of course you also have to realize that most of the homeowners on the Island, are non voting residents, so we're taxed without a vote. They need a long range plan of what the Island should be in 5, 10, 20 years. They need a land use plan, and should get imput from ALL residents and taxpayers. Most of the Island business is conducted during the winter months, while the popualtion is at it lowest. Seems like it's planned that way, so they can do what they want. Marie
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Post by Doo Wopper on Feb 21, 2005 11:23:14 GMT -5
See Wild Wood, we know Wildwood was in bad shape years ago, but the answer to the problem was not condos. They are, if anything, a temporary fix thats already starting to hurt more than help. Steve Izenour's ideas were perfect, however, he died, so now it's up to the DWPL to try to promote his ideas. You relize many people here have been going to Wildwood for decades.
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Post by Wild Wood on Feb 21, 2005 12:17:37 GMT -5
Doo Whopper Wildwood still has MAJOR problems that are going to take many years to solve. I also realize that many people have been going to the Wildwoods for decades. Myself included. Hear is an interesting article that was in yesterday’s newspaper. This is what the condos are doing for the Wildwoods. Exciting new properties are attracting new customers to Wildwood, according to real estate broker Rita Broomell. Wildwood inventory has hit an all-time high, she said. "Our rental activity is better than it was last year, probably because there are so many new options for people," said Broomell, who manages Century 21 Alliance offices in North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. "You just have to drive into town, and boom! all the new construction hits you in the face. In one spot, they put in 25 units where there used to be just three," said Broomell. "They will tear down one old house and put up a quad." High-end rentals make it possible for vacationers to live for a week like millionaires. These units include whirlpool spas, elevators, widescreen TVs, and computer hook-ups. Some properties feature ocean or bay views, many of them with accommodations for eight to 12 people. In addition to the new posh rentals, tenants in Wildwood may select from two-floor townhouses, one-floor condo flats - and something called "condotels." "That's a former hotel that's been made into condos," explained Broomell. "Things that people never could have had before, they can have now, such as their own pool on site, cabanas, bay views and ocean views." www.courierpostonline.com/news/business/b022005a.htm
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Post by DooWopper on Feb 21, 2005 12:38:02 GMT -5
Wow 1 (condo sellers) opinion. Of course she loves it, it's making her rich, she dosent care about Wildwood. And there are plenty of high style accomodations in Wildwood, Starlux, Reges, Bal Harbour, Port Roya, Pan American and tons of others. There is NO NEED for condos, especially when the tired motels can be completely renovated or torn down with new ones in the same style built in their place.
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Post by AnthonyV on Feb 21, 2005 12:38:56 GMT -5
High end (condo) rentals also restrict those people and families who can not afford a week living like a millionaire - limiting their choices in motels that could once be rented for a few days or weekends. More and more it seems these vacationers don't seem to count or matter much anymore down there.
If high-end condos are truly a requirement for upscale vacationers (and as a Wildwood Crest property owner I have no problem saying this) such people need to look no further than the entire Diamond Beach area in Lower Township which seemed to be built with those people in mind - which is also a world removed from the genuine Wildwoods experience! But that's just my opinion...
There's two sides to this double-edged sword.
Realtors, it should also be noted, have an enormous interest in initial condo property sales to benefit greatly from, which later provides rental opportunities which they continue to benefit from oncer known as "seasonal trickle fee's."
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Post by AnthonyV on Feb 21, 2005 13:31:08 GMT -5
I guess I'm also one of those so-called "rich" property owners owning property in the Wildwoods, but I feel for the people being eliminated from experiencing the real Wildwoods due to all this demolition. It's true that my family was able to live a good life greatly depending on Wildwood over the years for business, but they did so without raping the island of it's heritage and catering to any upscale clientele who care little about the community or it's culture.
As much as any real estate person might offer up what condos are doing for their business and newer Wildwood interests, any concerned person who cares about preserving the resorts genuine cultureand past could make an even more convincing argument on how demolition is harming this resort and stripping it of its identity.
For those defending, supporting, or sympathizing with all this demolition, development, and construction going on throughout the island, it might be important to realize that the site on which this forum is dedicated is called THE DOO WOP PRESERVATION LEAGUE and not the Doo Wop Demolition League. So you enter at your own risk and do so almost as a type of "counter culture" going against the flow of our concerns.
Even though I will defend anyone's right to voice their opinion, you came to the wrong place to voice your unpopular opinions which might go against the beliefs and principle on which the League and this forum were created.
I'm also sure that it is a safe assumption (at least to me) to believe that condo supporters know exactly what the repercussions are to any unpopular opinions they offer up here from those of us who feel strongly about what's been happening in this community as far as demolition and construction are concerned - especially over the last five years.
Let's face it though...No amount of words are really needed in defense of all the demolition and condo uprising because it is obvious that right now the developers and their supporters have gained a lot of enormous momentum in the battle of wrecking ball v. motel - perhaps more so than those who support the idea of preserving Wildwood's past. In that regard, the developers seem to be winning at the moment, and probably will be for a long time it seems.
Congratulations...Within a decade very little will distinguish Wildwood from any other pretentious Jersey Shore resort community. The place will become yet another resort destination where most middle class families will never actually be able to afford to vacation, especially when the interests of all these new "upscale" condos are geared towards a more selective and elite crowd who feel the need to live like millionaires for a week.
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Post by wildre on Feb 21, 2005 13:46:53 GMT -5
Well said Anthony!!! It should also be noted that the Mayor of Wildwood Crest John Pantalone, is also a realtor, he and his wife own the Hoffman Agency.
re
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Post by AnthonyV on Feb 21, 2005 14:24:10 GMT -5
Hoffman used to have some pretty affordable rentals in the past - mostly homes. They also have some really nice people working there!
I believe someone at Hoffman or maybe it was Calloway (don't think it was Daniels) recently mentioned to me that even Mayor Pantalone's own home (one of the oldest in WC) was in danger of being demolished, or something like that.
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