Post by Doo Wop Mike D on Jun 14, 2006 23:33:28 GMT -5
The Oceanview Motel site is still being peddled to developers with approved plans for 69 condos. The asking price has come down from $24 million to a bargain-basement $18 million for any deep-pocketed entrepreneurs out there.
The hold-up is probably a combination of the usual CAFRA permitting delays, as well as perhaps a bit of hesitancy on the part of developers to go forward with these kinds of projects right away as the market, at least temporarily, seems to be softening or stagnating a bit. However, as the largest parcel of oceanfront land still available in WW Crest, don't expect this to remain a motel for long, and with one of the biggest realtors on the island being a partner in the group that currently owns the Oceanview (to my knowledge), I'm sure they're not exactly anxious to make a preservation example out of the Oceanview. They'll wait for the right deal and right time and unforunately, this motel will come down, and set the final precedent for all the larger beachfront motels to eventually come down for new development. Maybe that's a bit of a doom-and-gloom prediction, but unfortunately, unless there's a major change in the market or a major change in the thinking in WW Crest, that's the direction we're heading in. As I've said a hundred times, the Wildwoods will inevitably evolve and become more upscale. Unfortunately, there still seems to be very little understanding and embrace in the local business community of how Doo Wop can be intertwined with that evolution. The locals still seem to think of it as... it's either Doo Wop or it's upscale, not both. And that gross misunderstanding is bad news.
It's a damn shame because the Oceanview is really an extraordinarily unique structure with that sloping-roofed lobby and one of the most unique Doo Wop structures left on the island. With its oceanfront location, this could really be a trophy mid-century-themed resort on the beach, really one of a kind. That 1965 postcard that was posted really shows what a stylish place this was for its time, both interiors and exterior. But so long as the current real estate market continues to box out the new blood that could have come in here with a new vision for these properties, it's not likely to happen.
Having purchased the property for $5.5 million in 2001, with 108 rooms, this could be a hugely profitable condo-conversion project for its current owners if they were interested in spending some money to fix up and renovate the place, get some serious designers in there, market it as a historic mid-century resort, and sell off the units at a premium price for their beachfront location. Maybe combine some units to create larger suites. They could conceivably make just as much money or more as they would selling the site to a developer (since they aren't planning to do the developing themselves) and it would be a great gesture to the community as WW Crest would really be left with a world-class gem of a resort on its hands - the kind of unique property that, along with places like the Caribbean, could really generate some buzz and bring a little more genuine cachet to the Wildwoods.
Having a place like that restored to its original circa-1965 look (interiors and all, or at least an updated interpretation) would make the design-conscious types from New York and Philadelphia and beyond go ga-ga. There's a way to combine the inevitable "upscaling" trend in the Wildwoods with making a virtue of mid-century design as Miami Beach makes an "upscale" virtue of Art Deco. The Oceanview is perhaps a last chance to put that theory into practice.
Maybe we can start a lobby for this? With the little blip in the market we're seeing right now, maybe there's one last window of opportunity to get some of the big players on the island to re-think the way the Wildwoods are being developed, at least with what's left of the Doo Wop District, before the building boom picks up again where it left off.
The hold-up is probably a combination of the usual CAFRA permitting delays, as well as perhaps a bit of hesitancy on the part of developers to go forward with these kinds of projects right away as the market, at least temporarily, seems to be softening or stagnating a bit. However, as the largest parcel of oceanfront land still available in WW Crest, don't expect this to remain a motel for long, and with one of the biggest realtors on the island being a partner in the group that currently owns the Oceanview (to my knowledge), I'm sure they're not exactly anxious to make a preservation example out of the Oceanview. They'll wait for the right deal and right time and unforunately, this motel will come down, and set the final precedent for all the larger beachfront motels to eventually come down for new development. Maybe that's a bit of a doom-and-gloom prediction, but unfortunately, unless there's a major change in the market or a major change in the thinking in WW Crest, that's the direction we're heading in. As I've said a hundred times, the Wildwoods will inevitably evolve and become more upscale. Unfortunately, there still seems to be very little understanding and embrace in the local business community of how Doo Wop can be intertwined with that evolution. The locals still seem to think of it as... it's either Doo Wop or it's upscale, not both. And that gross misunderstanding is bad news.
It's a damn shame because the Oceanview is really an extraordinarily unique structure with that sloping-roofed lobby and one of the most unique Doo Wop structures left on the island. With its oceanfront location, this could really be a trophy mid-century-themed resort on the beach, really one of a kind. That 1965 postcard that was posted really shows what a stylish place this was for its time, both interiors and exterior. But so long as the current real estate market continues to box out the new blood that could have come in here with a new vision for these properties, it's not likely to happen.
Having purchased the property for $5.5 million in 2001, with 108 rooms, this could be a hugely profitable condo-conversion project for its current owners if they were interested in spending some money to fix up and renovate the place, get some serious designers in there, market it as a historic mid-century resort, and sell off the units at a premium price for their beachfront location. Maybe combine some units to create larger suites. They could conceivably make just as much money or more as they would selling the site to a developer (since they aren't planning to do the developing themselves) and it would be a great gesture to the community as WW Crest would really be left with a world-class gem of a resort on its hands - the kind of unique property that, along with places like the Caribbean, could really generate some buzz and bring a little more genuine cachet to the Wildwoods.
Having a place like that restored to its original circa-1965 look (interiors and all, or at least an updated interpretation) would make the design-conscious types from New York and Philadelphia and beyond go ga-ga. There's a way to combine the inevitable "upscaling" trend in the Wildwoods with making a virtue of mid-century design as Miami Beach makes an "upscale" virtue of Art Deco. The Oceanview is perhaps a last chance to put that theory into practice.
Maybe we can start a lobby for this? With the little blip in the market we're seeing right now, maybe there's one last window of opportunity to get some of the big players on the island to re-think the way the Wildwoods are being developed, at least with what's left of the Doo Wop District, before the building boom picks up again where it left off.