By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City is about to take a critical step that will allow its much-awaited community recreation center to transition from the planning phase to actual construction.
The city is getting ready to advertise for construction bids in August as it makes final preparations to start work in the fall, according to the latest update on the proposed project.
As required for the project, the city has sent construction documents to the New Jersey State Comptroller’s Office for review.
“Once the Comptroller gives final approval to the documents, the city will advertise for construction bids, which is expected to take place in August,” the city said in its July 27 community newsletter.
For the last two years, while the project has moved through the planning and design phases, Sea Isle has estimated the cost of the community center at $20 million.
The construction bids will include the actual cost and will also give a better indication of the timeframe for building the project. Up to this point, city officials have been saying the community center is tentatively scheduled to open sometime in 2025.
Architectural renderings of the community center unveiled earlier by the city 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.
The building’s design reflects its 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 could use for meetings, events and other activities.
“We’ve got big ambitions for our people, and rightly so. The people are so deserving,” city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said of the project’s benefits for the entire community.
To make room for construction of the community center, the city demolished the old Sea Isle City Public School at 4501 Park Road in the 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.
For now, a construction fence surrounds the entire site. All sidewalks around the property are accessible to pedestrians, including the Central Avenue, Park Road, 45th Street, and 46th Street sides, the city said in the newsletter.
As a preliminary step for construction, a massive pile of soil, also known as fill, was placed at the site in June and will undergo a process known as “surcharging” for the next few months.
Surcharging will allow the soil to become compact enough for the community center’s foundation to be built on top of it without settling.
Overall, 4,280 cubic yards of fill have been placed at the site, according to the city. The soil is considered “clean fill,” meaning it does not contain toxins, organic matter or large debris.
A dump truck typically holds about 10 to 15 cubic yards of soil. Roughly speaking, the total amount of fill placed on the old school site is equal to more than 340 dump truck loads.
