Site along Shore and Pleasant roads to be Bayview Court parking lot
SOMERS POINT — Demolition work got started in earnest Thursday at the future site of an overflow parking lot for Bayview Court Apartments.
American Demolition Corp., which had been performing asbestos abatement at the five dilapidated homes on the site along Shore and Pleasant roads, erected snow fencing Oct. 26 and commenced destruction the following day.
Mark Franco of Egg Harbor Township, foreman for American Demolition Corp., said asbestos removal had to be completed first and that it took longer for air quality tests and state approvals than it did to perform the work.
He said he expects to be on-site for about a month, estimating three days per structure for demolition and removal of debris.
“We’ll be quite a few weeks for demolition,” he said.
The work is being performed by just three people. He said they use the excavator to destroy the buildings and load 100-yard tractor-trailers.
“They keep circling to the landfill and back,” Franco said.
Nothing but a dirt lot will remain, with the only evidence homes were once on the site the divots where the basements were. Franco said they would be filled in and leveled later.
“All the trees and everything are going, too. It’s going to be one big open lot and they are going to redevelop it,” Franco said.
He estimated three days per structure — about 15 work days depending on weather — plus clearing trees and removing concrete.
Franco said having access from the rear enables the work without needing traffic-control measures.
“This is a nice, easy job. No foot traffic or car traffic,” he said.
The demolition will make way for a parking lot and 12 housing units.
The Planning Board approved a subdivision and major site plan in June, paving the way for a 73-space parking lot on Shore Road and six fee-simple duplexes off Pleasant and Sunset avenues.
Jack Leonard, owner of the Bayview Court Urban Renewal Entity, said during a presentation of the proposal to City Council that rehabilitation of the apartment complex, formerly known as The Gates and for much longer as Atlantis Apartments, has driven the need for more parking.
The parking lot will be landscaped and have ample lighting and safety measures, including a fence that would force those who park in the lot to walk to the corner before crossing the street, Leonard said.
Leonard said Bayview Court Apartments were built in the late 1960s when most families had only one car. He said revitalization of the complex over the last four years has attracted residents who have two cars, creating a shortage of space with 202 apartments and only 211 parking spaces.
Bayview Court is located between Shore and Bethel roads, neither of which provides on-street parking.
“Two and a half years ago, the run-down homes across the street on Shore Road came on the market and we purchased the parcel immediately,” Leonard said.
He said the site improvements, including fencing and lighting, would be completed in 90 to 120 days.
“By spring we intend to start construction of the 12 twin homes we are building on each side of Sunset Avenue and have the landscaping started on the parking lot section,” Leonard said.
The homes are at 528, 532, 538 and 542 Shore Road, as well as 536 Sunset Ave. behind the others.
Before they were deemed uninhabitable, the Somers Point Police Department had to respond to the homes multiple times over the years. Information gathered via an Open Public Records Act request shows that 528 Shore Road was the location of 44 calls between Jan. 1, 2011, and Aug. 4, 2020, including 10 for domestic violence, five for 911 verification, two assaults/fights, two disturbances, two sex offender registrations, two restraining orders served, two ambulance calls, one child custody dispute, one harassment, one landlord/tenant issue, one narcotics complaint, one noise/loud party complaint, one theft and one suspicious activity.
Next door at 532 Shore Road, there were a total of 25 calls over the same period, including five property/building checks, two ambulance calls, two well-being checks, one burglary, one criminal mischief, one domestic violence, one fraud, one harassment, one narcotics investigation, one noise/loud parties complaint, one restraining order served, one stolen property report, one instance of trespassing and two warrants issued.
At 538 Shore Road, there were 17 calls over the time span, including seven ambulance calls, two property/building checks, one sudden/unattended death, one repossessed vehicle and one warrant.
There were 12 calls to 542 Shore Road, including six ambulance calls, two trespassing reports, two property/building checks, one suspicious activity and one 911 verifications.
Finally, at 536 Sunset Ave., there were 20 calls, including three noise/loud party complaints, two disturbances, two property/building checks, one burglary attempt, one customer dispute, one domestic violence, one motor vehicle theft, one offense against family and one suspicious activity.
The properties also have been issued multiple code violations for failure to cut the grass and weeds, improper storing of a pod container, accumulation of trash, failure to maintain sanitary conditions, unsafe conditions at 528, 532, 538 and 542 Shore Road.
Police Chief Robert Somers said the developer “has done an outstanding job, they have done a 180 (degree turn) at that place. I have nothing but good things to say about that.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff