OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Development Corporation this week held its 11th annual meeting and announced its top façade projects, award winners, and new board members.
Since the beginning OCDC has completed 102 façade projects. In 2010, 23 façade projects were completed and several are still underway. OCDC also recently completed its 100th façade project — the Buckingham Hotel.
“We have a lot to be proud of and as you walk through downtown Ocean City you can see the impact the façade program has had,” President Todd Ferrante said. “It has been recognized in the state as one of the most successful façade programs.”
This year OCDC’s Community Legacy Program received one of the largest grants ever seen from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development in the amount of $225,000. The grant was the largest ever given on the Eastern Shore. The grant has gone towards the corporation’s ongoing façade program, land acquisition and its new green initiatives program.
OCDC has recently purchased three properties downtown that have been cleared to construct a new parking lot. Also, for the fourth straight year the OCDC managed two buildings in downtown Ocean City that houses the beach patrol employees during the summer season
OCDC also held its annual Art Davis Memorial Golf Tournament and Ferrante said, “This year it was even more successful than it ever has been. This year we did very well and it changes our tournament into a major fundraiser.”
In the past, the corporation has partnered with the OC Cruisers and plan to do so again this year. They pair up to conduct special events on Somerset Street.
On July 16-17 the OCDC and Art League of Ocean City are partnering to host a Plein Air event. Artists will be painting outside all over Ocean City, and there will also be a wet paint sale.
“As you can see, there are a lot of things going on in downtown Ocean City,” Ferrante said.
During the meeting, attendees were able to vote on their favorite façade projects out of OCDC’s top 10 projects.
In third place was 104 Philadelphia Avenue, owned by Spiro Buas; in second was 108 5th Street, the Ambassador Inn, owned by Rocco DiFillipo; and the first place winner was 105-107 11th Street, owned by Kevin and Sue Maynard, Linda Dashiell, and David and Cindy Janaski.
The OCDC also gave out a number of awards. Buas was awarded for his façade projects on 104 Philadelphia Avenue and 1405 Baltimore Avenue, the Buckingham Hotel; Oak-Kwang Park received an award for the façade project on 105 2nd Street; and Bruce and Victoria Hamilton was also awarded for their property on 413 Baltimore Avenue, also known as the Bounds/Hamilton House, for being an older, well maintained downtown property.
The Art League of Ocean City was awarded for its support of public art projects in downtown Ocean City and Kay Stroud of Ocean City’s Planning and Community Development Department was also awarded for her professional assistance to the OCDC.
The corporation’s newly elected board members for a three-term were announced. Returning members include G. Hale Harrison, Terry Hough, Jay Knerr, and Greg Shockley, and new to the board is John Gehrig.