Mayor Leonard Desiderio looks over the construction site at the corner of Central Avenue and 45th Street.
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
The construction company that will build Sea Isle City’s $21 million community recreation center is promising to add the “wow effect” to the project.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio jokingly declared that the community center will be named the “Wow Building” if the Philadelphia-based Ernest Bock & Sons Inc. fulfills its word.
“They said that we are going to give you the wow effect,” Desiderio said of Bock’s assurances to the city.
The mayor and other senior-level Sea Isle officials sat down with Bock executives Tuesday during a preconstruction meeting to lay out the construction schedule and other critical aspects of the project, including parking arrangements for work vehicles.
Before Bock was awarded the construction contract by Sea Isle on Feb. 27, city officials could only provide a broad estimate of 2-2½ years as the timeframe for building the community center.
However, Bock executives told city officials during the meeting that the company expects to complete the project in 17 months – or 517 days to be exact, Desiderio said.
“I was very impressed, as I believe my colleagues sitting at the table were, too,” he said of Bock’s assurances of building the project much faster than Sea Isle officials had initially anticipated.
Sea Isle hopes to start construction on the project by late March. Although a date has not yet been announced, Desiderio said he wants to have a formal groundbreaking ceremony on a Saturday to get as many people from the community as possible involved with the milestone event.
“This is a community center, and I want the entire community involved with it,” he said.
Noting that the building will be a community centerpiece for decades to come, Desiderio said he hopes to have a large crowd on hand to witness the start of the project, take photos and even participate in the event by tossing a ceremonial shovelful of dirt.
“I want everyone to say, ‘I was there,’” he said of the community’s involvement.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio looks over the construction site at the corner of Central Avenue and 45th Street.
To make room for construction of the community center, the city demolished the old Sea Isle City Public School at 4501 Park Road last spring. The community center will occupy the same footprint of the old school on the block bordered by Park Road, Central Avenue, 45th Street and 46th Street.
The building’s design went through a number of iterations before the final concept was created. The design reflects the facility’s dual role as a community center and recreation facility.
There will be a large gymnasium, indoor walkway and workout space for recreation. The building will also include space that local community groups may use for meetings, events and other activities.
Architectural renderings released earlier for the community center show a two-story building featuring a glossy facade overlooking Central Avenue. Sea Isle officials say the building will include attractive architecture to blend in with the rest of the neighborhood.
At their meeting Tuesday, Bock and city officials discussed ways to minimize disruptions on the surrounding neighborhoods during the construction work.
It was agreed that construction traffic would enter and leave the site off of Central Avenue instead of using the small side streets, Desiderio said.
In addition, construction vehicles that park outside of the work site should not occupy parking spaces normally used by the public. This will be particularly important during the peak summer tourism season, when parking in town is at a premium, Desiderio noted.
“I liked it when the president said that he’s going to work with us,” Desiderio said of Bock’s president, Tom Bock, pledging his cooperation with the city.
Construction is expected to begin in March, but for now the site is sealed off behind a chain-link fence.
Tom Bock surprised Desiderio during the meeting by telling him that the two had already met years ago, when they were youngsters. Bock also remembered Desiderio’s late brother, Gerard.
At that time, Bock had worked during the summer vacation season for Desiderio’s parents, Leonard J. and Carmel Desiderio, when they owned a go-cart track in Sea Isle around 60th Street.
Tom Bock is not the only member of his company with Sea Isle ties. Other senior executives either spend their summers in Sea Isle or have vacation homes in the resort, Desiderio said.
Desiderio believes that Bock’s familiarity with the local community will be a big help to the company when it is building the community center – and will also work to Sea Isle’s advantage as well.
“That’s a good thing, with the Sea Isle ties,” he said.
Family-owned Bock & Sons has built a diversified portfolio of public and private projects in the Philadelphia area, New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic region during its 75-year history.
Some of its notable projects include the $40 million Atlantic County criminal courthouse complex in Mays Landing, the second phase of the Montgomery County (Pa.) Justice Center and a $70 million, 19-story building at 101 Walnut Street in Philadelphia.
It also built the 227-foot-tall Ferris wheel-like attraction at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City and the Philadelphia Flyers practice facility in Voorhees, N.J.
On its website ernestbock.com/ the company says that it adds “the wow factor” in the projects it builds, including entertainment, education, housing, government and healthcare facilities for the public and private sector.
An artist's rendering gives an aerial view of Sea Isle's community recreation center. (Courtesy of Sea Isle City)
