By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
With the gradual lifting of coronavirus restrictions, the beaches, ocean and Promenade are opening up in Sea Isle City for residents and visitors to enjoy again after a month-long shutdown.
Attention is also shifting to the bayfront, where Sea Isle is preparing to begin construction in late May or early June on a nearly $1 million project featuring a fishing pier and kayak launch site.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a federal permit for the project, allowing the city to move ahead with its construction near 60th Street at the Dealy Field recreation complex.
“The Army Corps permit was the last piece of the puzzle, so to speak,” city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said.
It now appears the project will be completed by Labor Day weekend or sometime in early September, although the city has not yet ruled out having it ready for at least part of the summer tourism season, Custer noted.
“At this point, it’s difficult to say. We don’t want to make promises we can’t keep,” she said of possibly opening the project in late summer.
For months, the city has been teasing the project with a large sign at the site that includes an architectural rendering accompanied by the words, “Coming soon … Opening in 2020.”
The Boardwalk-style structure will extend 132 feet out into the bay. Amenities will include a fishing pier and a handicap-accessible launch facility for kayaks and paddleboards. Parking is nearby.
The project will also include decorative lighting and a “passive pier” featuring a covered pavilion. City officials envision the passive pier as a quiet location for nature lovers to enjoy the wildlife, bayfront views and sunsets.
“This will give people a greater opportunity to enjoy some of Sea Isle’s greatest assets, the bay and wetlands,” Custer said.
Crowded with upscale homes, Sea Isle’s bayfront offers few places where kayakers, paddleboarders and anglers have public access to the water. The new fishing pier and kayak launch facility will give the public a prime location to enjoy the back bays.
“For starters, there is minimal public access to the bay. Unless you have a bayfront property, your options are limited,” Custer explained of how the new project will open up the bayfront.
A communitywide survey conducted in 2015 included responses from local residents urging the city to create more access to the bayfront as a way to enhance recreation, including kayaking.
Sea Isle has received a $935,605 grant from Cape May County’s Open Space Board to help pay for the fishing pier and kayak launch site project. EZ Docks South of Ocean View submitted a low bid of $975,550 among eight companies vying for the construction contract.
“They’re anticipating the project will go smoothly. Our construction contractor himself said this will be a beautiful project when completed,” Custer said.
