By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
One of Sea Isle City’s oldest homes had been under threat of being torn down to make room for a new duplex, but now it appears it will survive after being sold to a different buyer.
The two-story house at 26 59th Street dates to 1890, just eight years after the visionary real estate developer Charles K. Landis founded Sea Isle as a seaside resort inspired by the architecture and canals of Venice, Italy.
Abby Powell, a former president of the Sea Isle City Historical Society and Museum, said she researched the original deed for the house in 1890 and discovered that it was owned at that time by Matilda Landis, the sister of Charles K. Landis.
JCM Development LLC, a real estate investment company, had been in discussions this year to purchase the home and planned to build a duplex in its place. However, JCM was unable to win approval from Sea Isle’s Zoning Board for a variance to build the duplex on an undersized lot.
Online real estate records show that a new buyer, Bradford Bitting, emerged to purchase the home on Sept. 18 for $1.45 million from the previous owner, Suzanne Farmer Clarke.
Bitting and his wife, Kylie, could not be reached for comment Saturday. But local officials believe the couple plan to keep the historic house instead of redeveloping the property.
“It’s a godsend that the house is not going to be torn down,” Powell said. “A lot of people will be happy to hear that.”
A "Circa 1890" plaque showing when the house was built is next to the front door.
Powell noted that JCM Development’s proposal to demolish the house and build a duplex in its place faced neighborhood opposition when the project came before the Zoning Board. The board voted 5-1 in June not to grant the zoning variance that was needed in order to build the duplex on the undersized lot.
“A good handful of people were opposed to it being torn down,” Powell said.
Powell, who has been inside the house, said the most recent owners maintained the historic aspects of the home by keeping it pretty much to the original floor plan.
The Colonial Revival-style house features an old-fashioned wraparound porch and is painted a light green and trimmed in beige. Next to the front door is a “Circa 1890” plaque that showcases the home’s age.
The home’s location about a block from the beach at the ocean end of 59th Street makes it a prime piece of property.
It is among the old homes that were cataloged in a historic preservation study conducted by Sea Isle’s former Historic Preservation Commission in 1993.
The 34-page study remains a record of the Sea Isle Historical Museum. The musty report is filled with black-and-white photos and a brief description of the old homes of Sea Isle – including the 1890 house at 26 59th Street.
The wooden steps lead to a wraparound porch.
