By Donald Wittkowski
A Sea Isle City zoning board hearing on a redevelopment project that will replace the 50-year-old LaCosta Lounge nightclub with an upscale hotel, restaurant and bars was postponed Monday night.
The project will instead be heard by the zoning board at its meeting on July 1. Developer Christopher Glancey, who plans to transform the LaCosta site, asked the board to table his application after Monday’s meeting dragged on for more than two hours during a hearing on another unrelated project. The room was packed with members of the public.
Afterward, Glancey said the postponement will not cause any delays with his plans. He noted that in addition to securing local zoning board approval, he still must obtain a coastal construction permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Glancey and his business partner, Bob Morris, bought the LaCosta Lounge in 2017 for $7.3 million. They plan to develop a hotel, restaurant, bar and retail complex called “The Ludlam.” A pool and outdoor bar also are proposed.
The project’s name pays tribute to Ludlam Island, the barrier island where Sea Isle is located. Ludlam Island was named after Joseph Ludlam, who bought the land in the late 17th century and used it to graze cows and sheep before Sea Isle City was founded as a beach resort in 1882 by developer Charles K. Landis.
The centerpiece of the Ludlam project, a 46-suite hotel, promises to bring a new level of high-end lodging to Sea Isle.
“This entire project will be luxury and upscale. We’re trying to put something there that we currently don’t have in town – a luxury hotel,” Glancey said in a previous interview.
The development plan needs zoning board approval for two key variances – one to exceed the maximum building height of 40 feet and the other to include extra signage on the property.
The hotel would be 45 feet tall. Glancey explained that the extra 5 feet is needed for a parapet on the roof to hide the building’s heating and cooling systems. The parapet, essentially a barrier or wall, would improve the building’s aesthetics and also help to minimize any noise or odors emanating from the hotel and restaurant operations, he said.
There will be a total of 95 parking spaces to serve the entire complex, more than the minimum requirement of 84 spaces for a project of this size, Glancey said.
The LaCosta Lounge site occupies the corner of John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Landis Avenue, one of the most prominent locations in Sea Isle and the gateway to the downtown business district.
The 1.25-acre property includes the LaCosta nightclub, the Coast Motel, the Casino Pizzeria and a parking lot. All of the existing structures will be demolished to create room for the Ludlam project.
Glancey said previously that construction on the hotel, restaurant and bars is not expected to begin until this fall, with a grand opening in 2021.
In the meantime, the LaCosta Lounge is set to remain open this summer under the operation of James Bennett, the nightclub owner who holds a lease for the property through October 2019.
Dating to the 1960s, LaCosta has established a reputation as one of the best-known bars at the Jersey Shore. The nightclub has hosted multiple generations of party-goers in the past 50 years.
