By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
One of Sea Isle City’s historic homes has gotten a reprieve from demolition. But it is only temporary.
The 123-year-old house at 30 42nd Street, which is decorated with lavender trim and topped by a stately Mansard roof, will remain standing this summer as a vacation rental property, the owner said Monday.
Lawrence Lane, who has owned the house since 2003 with his wife, Darlene, eventually plans to demolish the home and use the property for a new mixed-use development combining commercial space on the ground floor with two condos on the second and third stories.
He had originally wanted to tear down the three-story house after the 2022 summer season, but has decided to rent it out for at least one more summer while he finalizes the plans for the mixed-use project.
Lane said he has received approval from Sea Isle’s Planning Board for the project, but still must submit final documents to the city engineer before taking the next steps.
“After I get all of the plans back, I’ll forward them to a builder for numbers and then have to apply for a mortgage,” he said of the construction cost.
Lane stressed that he actually loves the house and is reluctant to demolish it. He said he has put a lot of work into the home over the years, but that its sheer age and old-style construction make it difficult to maintain.
“It just gets to the point where it’s an uphill battle. God only gives you so much time,” he said of the upkeep required for the home.
Last year, he floated the idea of saving the home by selling it for a nominal price of perhaps $1 to someone who would be willing to take on the cost of moving it out of Sea Isle. However, no one expressed any interest, he said.
“It has a lot of really cool features – a lot of architectural features that you’ll never see again,” he said. “It’s a really cool house, it really is. It’s got good bones.”
Dating to 1900 in the Victorian era, the white house features a number of notable architectural embellishments, including its French-inspired Mansard roof. The front stairs, railings, front door and window trim are painted in a distinctive lavender color scheme.
Lane said he would still be willing to entertain any offers for the house, after the summer season, if someone would assume the responsibility of moving it.
“If somebody wants to take it and move it offshore, they’re more than welcome to. It’s an endeavor,” he said.
Lane doesn’t know much about the house’s history. He explained that he tried to research the history by examining the property deeds, but found that some of them were so old that they were handwritten and difficult to read.
Over the last 20 years, he has done extensive work on the house, including new plumbing, new electrical upgrades, a new roof, new front and rear steps, a new rear deck, a new kitchen, a new bathroom, eight new windows and coats of paint.
“I think I put a drop of paint on every inch of that house,” he said.
Although it is a residential structure, Lane’s home is located within Sea Isle’s General Business District in the center of downtown, according to planning board documents. A project featuring a commercial component is allowed where the home currently stands.
Lane’s proposed project represents the type of construction that has become popular in Sea Isle ever since the city changed its zoning laws in 2008 to encourage mixed-use development.
In recent years, a number of old homes have been demolished to make way for mixed-use projects combining commercial space such as restaurants and retail shops on the first floor with condos on the top two stories. Lane said he has not yet decided what type of commercial tenant he would like to occupy the ground floor of his project.
