By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Demolition has started on The Ludlam Hotel complex to make room for development of an upscale boutique hotel that will serve as one of the new centerpieces of Sea Isle City’s downtown business district.
Giant excavators have already torn down the facade of The Ludlam’s hotel tower as well as the outdoor bar that was a popular hangout for summer crowds.
The main part of the three-story hotel tower, as well as the Shorebreak Cafe, another part of The Ludlam complex, are next in line for demolition at the corner of John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Landis Avenue.
The remaining buildings are the last vestiges of the old LaCosta Lounge, a throwback bar that established a reputation as one of the best-known drinking spots at the Jersey Shore. The old LaCosta nightclub hosted multiple generations of partygoers for 50 years.
When it opened in the 1960s, the LaCosta was built on the same spot where some of Sea Isle’s most historic businesses once stood, including the former Bellevue Hotel and Cronecker’s Hotel & Restaurant dating to the late 1800s.
The site is fenced off for demolition.
Developers Christopher Glancey and Bob Morris bought the old LaCosta Lounge in 2018 for $7.3 million. They had originally planned to redevelop the site then for a boutique hotel, but instead renovated the property for its transformation into The Ludlam hotel, restaurant and bar complex and the Shorebreak Cafe.
Now, they have revived their original plan to build a high-end boutique hotel, also to be called The Ludlam. The project will feature 26 hotel suites, 20 residential units, a restaurant, bar and small bakery. There will also be a swimming pool on the second floor for hotel guests.
Glancey said in a June interview that construction will begin on the hotel in August once the demolition work is finished. The project is expected to take two years to complete and will open in the summer of 2026, according to plans.
“The project has always been about hotel rooms and the demand for hotel rooms in town. We’re going to remake this corner and bring it up to its best and highest use not only for the hotel rooms, but also as the best use for the community,” Glancey said of the broader economic impact the development will have on Sea Isle.
An architectural rendering depicts what the new Ludlam boutique hotel project will look like when completed. (Courtesy of Christopher Glancey)
Glancey said the new Ludlam boutique hotel represents the next generation of development for the high-profile location, the main entryway to the downtown district.
“It will bring the transient visitor into town, not only in the summer, but also during the shoulder season and weekends. It will have an impact on the center of town and the shops when the people are there and the businesses are open to serve those people,” he pointed out.
Other parts of Sea Isle have already been transformed by development projects owned by Glancey and Morris. They specialize in mixed-use projects that combine restaurant or retail space on the first floor with high-end condominiums on the top two stories.
They are well-known for their Dunes, Cove and Cape mixed-use developments lining the Landis Avenue corridor in Sea Isle’s Townsends Inlet section.
Earlier this year, they bought the old Nickelby’s bakery and coffee shop at 83rd Street and Landis Avenue for an undisclosed price. The Shorebreak Cafe has been relocated into the old Nickleby’s site now that The Ludlam complex is being demolished.
The Shorebreak Cafe is another part of The Ludlam complex that will be torn down.
