An expanded social media campaign by Sea Isle's Chamber of Commerce is designed to draw more visitors to town.
By Donald Wittkowski
Don’t blink. Another high-profile piece of property in Sea Isle City has hit the market with a multimillion-dollar sale price.
The half-acre bayfront site at 4210 Park Road is listed for $6 million, a price that reflects the city’s brisk real estate market.
Currently, the property is occupied by the Andrea Trattoria Italiana II restaurant and the Berardi Brothers pizzeria, but the site is being marketed for redevelopment into a combination of housing and commercial space.
The sale listing calls the property a “one of a kind” site in the heart of Fish Alley, the enclave of longtime, family-owned restaurants and fishing boat operators rooted in Sea Isle’s early history as a commercial seaport.
The property offers a waterfront view off Park Road between 42nd and 43rd Place.
Paula Doll, Sea Isle’s tax collector and chief financial officer, said the owner of 4210 Park Road is AKGG LLC. Based in Sea Isle, AKGG is described in online business records as a real estate leasing and rentals company.
A representative of AKGG could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Andrew Wolfington, an agent for The Flynn Co., the Philadelphia-based commercial real estate broker that is handling the sale, did not return calls seeking comment.
The property listing by The Flynn Co. says the site could be developed into a three-story complex featuring 20 units of multi-family housing on the top two floors. In addition, there would be 25 parking spots, eight boat slips and 8,745 square feet of commercial space on the first floor.
Mixed-use projects that combine condominiums or apartments with retail or restaurant space are becoming a hot trend in Sea Isle’s real estate market.
Fish Alley could be reshaped with new development as part of some high-profile property sales.
As previously reported by Seaislenews.com, the Lobster Loft restaurant, another bayfront landmark in the Fish Alley neighborhood, is being marketed as a potential redevelopment site as part of its proposed $2.5 million sale.
The Lobster Loft is next door to the property up for sale at 4210 Park Road. The Lobster Loft’s listing says plans are available for a proposed waterfront restaurant and bar, eight boat slips and eight condos in a three-story complex.
Another iconic business that is a candidate for redevelopment is the Springfield Inn, the beachfront nightclub and bar that has been a fixture of the city’s entertainment scene since the 1970s.
The Springfield is listed for sale for $6.7 million, Seaislenews.com previously reported. A proposed redevelopment plan would see the old nightclub replaced with a new restaurant, retail space and 13 upscale condos in a three-story complex.
The Springfield Inn, a fixture of Sea Isle's nightclub scene since the 1970s, is on the market for $6.7 million.
The value of the Springfield Inn is its prime, beachfront location at the corner of 43rd Street and Pleasure Avenue. It is the only beachfront business in Sea Isle that has a liquor license, said Russ Menk, the real estate broker handling the sale.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio said the proposed sale of some of Sea Isle’s best-known businesses reflects an “exceptionally strong” real estate market. He said investors are attracted by the city’s low tax structure, the strong demand for vacation homes and the steep discounts that are available on flood insurance for homes and businesses.
Developers are capitalizing on a change in the city’s zoning law approved in 2008 that allows businesses to rebuild commercial properties while adding more residential space.
Sea Isle enacted the zoning change to encourage businesses to stay put in town, instead of seeing them disappear to make room for even more housing.
The mixed-use projects include commercial establishments such as bars, restaurants and retail shops operating on the street level, while the top floors feature condos or apartments. They have been especially popular in the city’s Townsends Inlet section, which is undergoing a rebirth of residential, retail and restaurant attractions.
