OCEAN CITY — While no formal action was taken and there are many details to wade through, resort planners this week were generally pleased with the presentation of plans for the proposed Margaritaville Hotel and Resort complex.
In August, the Ocean City Planning Commission reviewed the conceptual plans for the proposed resort, which, if approved, would encompass virtually an entire city block downtown on the oceanside facing the Boardwalk between 13th and 14th streets where the Phillips Beach Plaza Hotel once was situated. On Tuesday, the planning commission held the required public hearing for the proposed planned overlay district (POD) needed to accomplish the major redevelopment project in a marathon three-hour-plus session.
During the session, the town staff, which has reviewed the proposal, first presented its finding on a variety of issues, including the POD requirements, parking, non-conformities, density and the like. When the town staff’s presentation was over, local attorney Hugh Cropper made his presentation, calling on numerous people including the principal partners in the development plan, the project’s architects, parking experts, traffic experts and more.
The proposed project over 12 different lots would include 265 hotel rooms, three restaurants, including the JWB Grill with high-end steaks and seafood, the Landshark Bar and Grill and a coffee shop and provisions store in the lobby. The project would also include three outdoor pools and one indoor pool, a wellness center and gym, 14,000 square feet of flexible convention space, retail stores facing the Boardwalk and many other upscale amenities.
Before the hearing began, Planning Commission chair Pam Buckley told the large audience in the council chambers the commission would not be taking any action on Tuesday, nor would any formal votes be taken.
“We have been reviewing it this week,” she said. “We have decided we’re not going to be making any decision on this tonight. We will go into a work session and work through all of the details and do what’s best for the city, the developer and the residents and visitors.”
Planning and Community Development Director Bill Neville said while the proposed Margaritaville resort complex would represent a major upgrade, it was not much different in terms of use from what the property had been for decades.
“The existing use is a hotel with some commercial,” he said. “It’s been that way for years. The proposed plan is not a departure from that.”
Neville explained the proposed location at 13th Street represented a transition area of sorts from the commercial south end of the Boardwalk to what has informally been known for years as hotel row. In recent years, many of the traditional old Boardwalk hotels have been replaced with major hospitality brands, such as Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott, for example.
“The site is on the edge of a change in use from Boardwalk commercial to what we call hotel row,” he said. “It’s right on the edge of that and it’s a nice transition. Usually, projects right on the edge of a change in zoning districts are exciting. Originally, they looked at what could be done if they could combine the properties and develop an entire city block.”
In August, Cropper gaged the commission’s interest on conveying a portion of an alley that runs through the proposed project seeking the town to convey it to the developer in order to meet the proposed project’s density and parking requirements. On Tuesday, Cropper said that decision is pending approval from the Mayor and Council
“This property is bisected by a 16-foot alley,” he said. “I have applied to the Mayor and Council to convey that alley to this project, but that’s a separate issue. We going to present tonight as if that 16-foot alley has been conveyed.”
Cropper said assuming the alley is conveyed, the plan is to widen it from the existing 16 feet. Under the town’s code, buildings could be erected right up to the edge of either side of the alley. The proposed plan calls for widening the alley to 23 feet with a vehicle travel lane, a bike lane and five-foot sidewalks on either side.
Project architect Jack Mumford with Becker Morgan Group laid out some of the features of the proposed project including setbacks from the Boardwalk and shadow studies for the neighboring property from the 13-story resort hotel. Mumford said Margaritaville could be a great addition to the downtown area.
“We think this is a phenomenal opportunity for Ocean City,” he said. “It accomplishes the goals of your comprehensive plan and I think it fits well in the neighborhood.”
Next, the planning commission heard from some of the members in the development group, including Chesapeake Hospitality Hotel Management Company Principal Steve Smith. Smith said he worked in various capacities in Ocean City’s hospitality industry in years’ past and, ironically, his last job in the resort was assistant general manager at the Beach Plaza Hotel.
“Many of you might ask where the idea of this project comes from,” he said. “In 2011, the Phillips organization asked us to take over the management of the hotel. In 2017, a Margaritaville Resort and Hotel opened in Hollywood, Fla. We were able to witness a positive impact on the local economy and overall tourism.”
Margaritaville Hospitality CEO John Colhan also cut his hospitality teeth in Ocean City in the 1970s. He has been partners with Jimmy Buffet for over two decades and helped transition the company from a small restaurant in the Keys to a nationally and internationally recognized brand.
“Jimmy Buffet and I have been partners for 24 years in the business of Margaritaville Hospitality,” he said. “When I joined Jimmy, he had a small restaurant in Key West and a small retail store. For 40 years, people have been eating, drinking and having a good time in Margaritaville.”
Colhan said he lived and worked in Ocean City in the 1970s and said he always believed the resort would be the perfect fit for the Margaritaville brand.
“I do know this town very well,” he said. “As we have been building Margaritaville brand, we started with restaurants and now our main focus is lodging, but we have a lot of restaurant expertise. In all honesty, I’ve always thought of this town as an ideal spot for us to bring our lifestyle brand because of what Margaritaville stands for. I always did think of Ocean City as about the perfect place for what we do with the business in terms of lifestyle. We stand for relaxation and we stand for the tropical experience.”
The only public comment during the three-hour-plus hearing that did not come during the formal presentations came from a condo owner and board member from a condominium from across the street from the proposed project and he was generally pleased with how the developers reached out and responded to their concerns.
“I’d’ like to thank them for their time –almost two hours in a zoom call — to address some of the concerns we have,” he said. “It’s not just the parking and the traffic, but light pollution and noise pollution and the construction schedule and everything. They were able, in my opinion, to give satisfying answers to all of that, with the caveat that parking is the paramount issue.”
Buckley said Cropper’s presentation including the various principals and experts was impressive.
“The one thing I have to say is I was impressed with the presentation and the number of people you brought in,” she said. “I think the professionalism of this group is very good and I’m happy to see that.”
Again, no action was taken on Tuesday and the planning commission will meet next week in a work session to begin working through the details. In addition, also still pending is a Mayor and Council decision to convey the alley that bisects the property to the development group.
