OCEAN CITY — The mixed-use building at 1048 Asbury Ave. includes a storefront in the city’s award-winning downtown and five rental units up top.
Vito DiMarco, the listing agent with Marr Agency, bought the building in 2011 and renovated two of the five apartments before Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, flooding much of the island.
DiMarco said the back of the building, constructed much later than the front, was built with a cinderblock foundation but that the front was just brick sitting on dirt. He replaced the foundation around the new portion of the building with block walls about 4 feet high and poured a concrete floor, using steel for support rather than the old timber frame.
“The typical older place you find on Asbury Avenue has not been renovated whereas this one has been,” DiMarco said. “I spent the time, money and effort to make sure that it’s built to last.”
After Sandy, he renovated the store, which now has a stamped-concrete floor that looks like hard wood.
In all, the 6,250-square-foot building has nine bedrooms.
The five units run from No. 1 in the front to No. 5 in the rear. Two are two stories, two are three stories and one is one story.
Units 1 and 2 were renovated in 2011 and Units 4 and 5 after the hurricane.
Since the units share interior walls, Unit 3 got updated electrical service, interior wiring and plumbing along with all of the others. It also got a new washer and dryer, wall-to-wall carpeting and the fiberglass deck that wraps around the building, providing access to all five units.
All of the windows have been replaced with new construction rather than replacement windows, DiMarco said, and all of the entry doors have been replaced.
The four totally renovated units each has a new kitchen and bathroom, while those two things remain to be done in Unit 3.
Out front, a handsome street façade includes stacked-stone columns and stairs along with black awnings. The covered second-floor front porch belongs to Unit 1, providing a place for dining or relaxing after a long day at the beach. Each of the other units is accessed via a door on the south side.
The store is operated by Gleeson’s Home Entertainment & Automation, a longtime tenant that intends to continue leasing the space, DiMarco said. There is a showroom as well as a break room and warehouse.
All of the apartments have baseboard electric heat and electric water heaters, as well as their own electric meters. There are window air conditioners.
DiMarco said he also made the home water-tight by adding a new vapor seal and vinyl siding, and made it more efficient.
“I made sure that when I renovated the building that I put insulation wherever it was needed,” DiMarco said.
“This fully renovated income-producing property it’s very unique, from its location near 10th Street downtown to its historic nature,” DiMarco said.
The building is listed for $1.325 million with Vito DiMarco of Marr Agency. Call (609) 602-5120 for more information or to set up an appointment to see this wonderful mixed-use building.