Shore Road, Sunset Ave. buildings may be replaced by new development
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
SOMERS POINT — Better days may be in the future for a stretch of Shore Road where five dilapidated houses sit boarded up with overgrown, trash-strewn lawns.
The homes — at 528, 532, 538 and 542 Shore Road, as well as 536 Sunset Ave. behind the others — have been in decline for many years.
But according to multiple sources, a potential buyer for the 2.25-acre property has plans to clear the site to make way for a high-end townhouse complex.
The properties are owned by a trust controlled by Bob Edmunds, the son of the former owner. Edmunds operates GovTech, a technology company with an office on Tilton Road in Northfield. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Real estate agent Cindy Kaczmarski, of Dwell Real Estate in Northfield, said the seller and potential buyer are still in negotiations, adding that a townhouse development is under consideration.
“We are trying to get something to happen to make that a beautiful part of Somers Point,” Kaczmarski said, adding that the homes were boarded up because people had broken in and city asked to have them secured.
Greg Sykora, a member of the city’s Economic Development Advisory Commission, said a potential buyer is in negotiations to “buy the properties, tear them all down and put in high-end townhouses.”
He said when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the buyer put the brakes on because it is seeking tax breaks for the possible development.
City Council President Sean McGuigan said improving the area is on the city’s radar.
“Those particular homes need attention and we are currently working with the present owner and looking at different development ideas for that property,” McGuigan said, noting that any plan is “very much in beginning stages, in its infancy.”
He said there are areas of the city “where we have made efforts to make changes and seen very positive results,” noting the Bayview Court Apartment Homes across Shore Road.
“We as a City Council continue to look at different areas and work with developers or businesses to help enhance both public and private spaces,” McGuigan said. “This is certainly one area that we are going to see what we can do to encourage improvement.”
Mayor Jack Glasser said he could not comment specifically on any plans since he is a member of the Planning Board and may vote on a future application, but did say any change would be beneficial to the city.
“We would love to see that moved along and some improvements there,” Glasser said. “We would be open to any application so that we can review it for its merits.”
City Administrator Wes Swain said the properties have been “problematic for years and people were living in them.”
The Somers Point Police Department has had to respond to the homes multiple times over the years. Information gathered via an Open Public Records Act Request show 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, and unsafe conditions at 528, 532, 538 and 542 Shore Road.
The single-family home at 528 Shore Road has 3,232 square feet of living space and was built in 1920. The home, on the corner of Pleasant Avenue, last sold for $142,000 in July 1995 to Robert R. Edmunds Revocable Trust, which is the owner of record for all of the others.
The 1,754-square-foot single at 532 Shore Road was built in 1915 and served for a time as a halfway house known as Oxford House Somers Point.
With 2,132 square feet of living space, the single at 538 Shore Road was built in 1925. The home at 542 Shore Road is 1,452 square feet and was built in 1949.
The smaller home at 536 Sunset Ave. is 982 square feet and was built in 1954. It sits at the back exit from St. Joseph Regional School.
McGuigan said the last of the tenants moved out three or four months ago.