By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Matt Bateman recalled the first time he noticed the deteriorated commercial building that occupies a high-profile location on Sea Isle City’s oceanfront Promenade.
“There was a junky old building just sitting there,” he said.
Although the building at 42nd Street wasn’t actively for sale at the time, Bateman contacted a realtor and was able to buy it in 2020. Four years later, the building still remains in bad shape.
“I know that everybody who goes to Sea Isle knows how horrible this building looks,” Bateman said in an interview.
However, he has plans to dramatically transform the site into a new commercial attraction that would include restaurant space and possibly an indoor miniature golf course.
The existing building would be demolished to allow Bateman to redevelop the property. His architect, William McLees, of Somers Point, unveiled a new rendering that depicts a three-level structure featuring a contemporary facade overlooking the Promenade.
Bateman’s original plan to convert some of the building’s commercial space into three apartments for his family was rejected in January by Sea Isle’s zoning board. The board refused his request for a zoning variance to turn what is a strictly commercial structure into a mixed-use project that would have included residential units.
After considering his options, Bateman now intends to seek approval from Sea Isle’s planning board as soon as possible to redevelop the site with a new commercial building. He said no variances would be needed for the project.
“I’m trying to get something in there that will work with the neighborhood,” he said.
Bateman hopes is to start construction in September after the summer tourism season and open the building in 2025.
He plans to have three commercial units on the ground level, two more on the second floor and an upscale restaurant in what the architectural rendering shows to be a glass-enclosed top level.
Bateman explained that family entertainment would be a major component of the project. He envisions having an indoor mini golf course similar to the Puttshack franchise – if not Puttshack itself – occupy a large portion of the building.
Puttshack describes its locations as a “tech-infused mini golf experience” featuring live entertainment with a DJ booth, food and drinks and event space.
Currently, there is an outdoor mini golf course on the roof of the existing building. Bateman had planned to keep the outdoor mini golf course if the zoning board had granted approval to convert the building into a mixed-use development.
By his estimate, Bateman has invested more than $3 million in the building to buy it, maintain it and for other expenses such as flood insurance.
At the same time he is proposing to redevelop the site, he also has the property listed for sale for $4.5 million, after cutting it down from the original price of $4.75 million.
In the real estate listing, the property is being pitched as the “ideal location for oceanfront development, including retail, restaurant, townhouses (or) apartments.”
Bateman said he is simply considering his options by having the property on the market.
“It’s for sale, but it’s not on sale. I’m not trying to unload it. We still have high hopes we can do something special for Sea Isle,” he said.
Bateman and his wife, Kelly, are dentists who live and practice in Nacogdoches, Texas. Bateman’s wife grew up vacationing in Sea Isle and he began visiting the resort in 2008 with her and his in-laws. The Batemans still spend their summer vacations in Sea Isle.
Bateman stressed that he always wanted to own a beachfront property in Sea Isle, which led him to the Promenade building in the first place during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“The fact that I was able to secure that, I was so happy. When I got the contract, I thought it was a privilege,” he said of buying the building.
He now hopes that city officials will endorse his plans to redevelop the site. He pointed out that his Promenade project would be part of an ongoing transformation of the 42nd Street corridor, including four other new or proposed projects featuring commercial and residential space.
“I feel that 42nd Street will be the jewel of Sea Isle,” he said.
