OC Planning Comm. Approves Hotel Proposal

OC Planning Comm. Approves Hotel Proposal
Aloft Hotel NE 100416

OCEAN CITY — Resort planners this week approved a site plan for a new five-story, 120-room hotel and retail area that will soon replace the last vestiges of the old 45th Street Village.

For decades, the 45th Street Village with its quaint shops and restaurants was a popular tourist destination in the midtown area, but it has been redeveloped piecemeal in recent years. Long gone are most of the shops familiar for years and in their place are shiny new restaurants and other establishments including O.C. Steamers and the 45th Street Taphouse, for example.

On Tuesday, the Planning and Zoning Commission got a first look at the future plans for the remainder of the property with a site plan review for a 120-room, five-story hotel on the southwest corner along the bay and a new split-level, 15,500-square-foot retail area along the south side of the old 45th Street Village property closer to Coastal Highway. The developer is 45th Street Village LLC, spearheaded by owner Avi Siboni, who has developed the rest of the vast site between 44th Street and 46th streets.

Ocean City Zoning Administrator Blaine Smith laid out the details of the proposed site plan for the Planning Commission on Tuesday. Smith said the plan is to demolish what remains of the old 45th Street Village to make way for a new 120-room hotel on the bay front in the first phase, followed by nearly 16,000 square feet of retail in the second phase.

“They’re going to demolish the existing building along the bayfront,” he said. “They’re also going to demolish what remains of the old 45th Street Village.”

Project Architect Keith Iott explained the hotel would be part of the growing Aloft brand of hotels, which is part of the large Starwoods chain of hotels that also includes Marriott, for example. He said the Aloft brand is growing in popularity with its amenities geared toward a younger generation.

“It’s a pretty slick concept,” he said. “It will be one of the coolest hotels in Ocean City. It’s clearly marketed toward millennials. It’s a fun brand and we’re excited about it.”

The proposed hotel will include some banquet facilities and a pool along with other outdoor amenities, but there are no restaurants or other food service operations included in the plan. The concept is to have hotel guests enjoy the existing bars and restaurants already on the property. However, the plans do include a catering kitchen that the developers hope to use to exploit one of the better features of the site.

“The 25-foot setback requirement for the critical area allows for this beautiful lawn area,” he said. “We see this as being one of the premiere banquet venues in Ocean City. The views are among the best in the resort.”

Iott said the plan includes a bayfront boardwalk that could connect to neighboring properties and possibly the convention center in the future.

“We envision the bayside boardwalk across the back of the property that could ultimately connect to the convention center,” he said. “This hotel and the Hampton Inn could become the de facto hotels for the convention center.”

Iott said the plans for the new Aloft hotel are much further along in terms of details than the plans for the large split-level retail area. However, the developer was seeking site plan for the entire project as a whole in the interest of getting some closure on the fractured 45th Street Village site.

“We’re envisioning the retail as possibly a destination surf shop,” he said. “It’s the one thing we’ve struggled with and it’s been a moving target. The objective is to finally finish out the site and we want to finalize these things for all concerned.”

Planning Commission members voiced some concern about the relative ambiguity of the plans for the retail area, but Iott assured them they would get a look at the final plan before any ground was broken.

“Obviously, we’re not as far along with the design of the retail as we are with the hotel,” he said. “We’d be glad to bring that back to you for approval when we have a final design. You could make it a condition of site plan approval.”

Resort planners also voiced concern about the proposed location of the trash collection areas for the entire site, which would require refuse to be carted back and forth across the property. However, Iott explained by taking advantage of the bayfront aspects of the site, there trash collection areas were located in the best place possible and would be appropriately screened from view.

“When you put a hotel on the bay, you don’t have much room for a back of the house,” he said.

Satisfied with several aspects of the plan, from the parking requirements to the critical area obligations to the ingress and egress plans, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to approve the site plan for the new hotel and retail complex with commission members Peck Miller and Palmer Gillis recusing themselves.

“It’s such an improvement over what was originally planned,” said Planning Commission Chair Pam Buckley. “I think it’s a great project.”

About The Author: Shawn Soper

Alternative Text

Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.