An architectural rendering depicts the proposed 43-unit condominium development overlooking Bay Avenue and 34th Street.
Ocean City’s most notorious eyesore may be redeveloped into a high-end condominium complex featuring upscale amenities, an environmentally friendly “green roof” and even a dog wash for owners to bathe their pets in style.
The 43-unit residential project is proposed in place of the shuttered Seaspray Condominiums, which have been condemned and declared “unsafe for human occupancy” for more than a year.
City Council is expected to introduce a redevelopment ordinance at its meeting Thursday night to pave the way for the proposed buyer of the Seaspray site to dramatically transform the property into deluxe condos.
“I think it’s going to bring new energy and vitality to the 34th Street corridor. It’s going to create a really beautiful gateway into Ocean City,” said Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow, who represents the area where the new condos would be built.
Renderings attached to the Council agenda depict a four-story condo building. It would be highlighted by decorative architectural touches giving the complex an attractive exterior overlooking the 34th Street entryway into town at Bay Avenue.
“The proposal is a gorgeous building in keeping with the seashore vibe,” Winslow said.
The complex would feature a porte cochere to give the condo owners and visitors an upscale sense of arrival.
Indoor and outdoor amenities would include a swimming pool ringed by private cabanas, an environmentally friendly “green roof” covered in grass and vegetation, a fitness center, recharging stations for electric vehicles and a dog bathing area, the renderings show.
An upscale pool ringed by private cabanas would be part of the condo complex, the renderings show.As it stands now, the hulking Seaspray complex mars the busy 34th Street entryway into Ocean City. It has been surrounded by a chain-link fence and abandoned ever since it was declared structurally unsafe in 2024. Red tags were slapped on the buildings declaring Seaspray as “unsafe for human occupancy.”
Seaspray was shut down by the city’s construction official in 2024 after some concrete fell from the landing of an exterior stairway at the 32-unit condo complex.
The Seaspray buildings date to the 1950s and were originally part of the Seaspray Motel before they were converted into condos in 1981.
The work needed to return the property to a safe condition is reportedly too expensive for the condominium association. Litigation among the Seaspray condo unit owners has resulted in the court appointing a receiver to sell the property, City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson said.
Underscoring the need to demolish the blighted property, Councilman Keith Hartzell descriptively called the Seaspray condos “the poster child” for rehabilitation and redevelopment.
Council has already declared the Seaspray site “in need of rehabilitation” and is expected to take the next step in the property’s transformation by introducing the redevelopment ordinance at Thursday’s meeting.
The HOW Group, a property management and real estate company based in Conshohocken, Pa., is under contract to buy the Seaspray site for an undisclosed price, city officials said.
The property hit the market in 2024 for $7 million and has being touted as a “prime real estate, investment opportunity.”
A chain-link fence blocks access to the Seaspray condos while they remain closed.HOW Group had asked the city to designate the site in need of rehabilitation to open the door for a redevelopment plan that would include construction of 43 condo units within the complex.
Winslow said the lavish condo complex would create a “sense of welcoming” for residents and visitors arriving on the 34th Street corridor.
The city and county have been discussing plans to revitalize the 34th Street entryway with new road improvements and decorative elements that would make the corridor more inviting to visitors.
