OCEAN CITY — The 52 feet of lagoon frontage at 23 Walnut Road provides a safe anchorage for boaters, who can slip right out of Sunny Harbor into Great Egg Harbor Bay and head out into the Atlantic Ocean on a deep-sea fishing excursion.
Built in 2005 by Price Brothers Construction in the popular Riviera section of the island, the three-story, 3,868-square-foot home has six bedrooms, six full bathrooms, a third-floor bonus space and step-down great room with a 10-foot ceiling overlooking the lagoon and a floating dock with two boat slips and personal watercraft skids.
It’s a boater’s paradise right on the water, with plenty of space for a large family and friends to stretch out and enjoy a terrific summer in America’s Greatest Family Resort.
The entire rear of the property is one large composite-decked patio with a sunken swimming pool and access to the water via a metal ramp to the floating dock. There’s also a back porch with a retractable awning, providing the choice of sun or shade.
Ocean City is one of the most popular shore resorts on the East Coast, featuring a 2.5-mile-long oceanfront boardwalk filled with hundreds of shopping, dining and entertainment venues, as well as miles and miles of pristine beaches. There also is an award-winning downtown business district centered on Asbury Avenue and a watersports district around Third Street on Bay Avenue.
A great location doesn’t only mean beachfront or bayfront on this 8-mile-long island — there are 10 distinct neighborhoods, each with its own characteristics. The Riviera is home to many upscale homes set right on inland lagoons, providing a safe anchorage for pleasure boats as well as a great place to go kayaking or paddleboarding. It’s a destination rather than a throughway, meaning traffic is limited to neighbors and guests.
The home has an asymmetrical design, with a barnlike roof to the left above the two-car garage and a tower to the right of the center entrance. It features tan cedar-impression siding and a brick-faced foundation skirt, as well as several awnings both functional and fashionable.
A grassy front yard is split by a paver brick drive large enough for several cars. There’s also room inside the garage, which has an epoxy floor. A flagpole in the front corner proudly flies Old Glory, while mulched beds with slow-growing shrubs line the right side.
Paver brick paths lead left and right around the house to the back patio.
To the right of the garage, which has separate doors, is a sheltered porch with composite steps. A door with a large leaded-glass insert and side panels opens into a foyer with a view straight through to the water.
The quality of materials and craftsmanship is readily apparent in the foyer, which has shadow-box wainscoting and crown molding, as well as a custom tile floor. Part of the ceiling rises past the second floor, creating a walkway above with a view through a large oval windows. A handsome set of stairs is around the corner to the right.
The tile gives way to narrow-plank oak hardwood flooring in the hallway leading to the great room. A door to the left opens onto the garage, which also has an exterior side door.
On the left, the ground-floor bedroom has a private bathroom, so it’s perfect for the older set. There’s a powder room across the hall, ideally located close to the heart of the home. It has Tuscan-style tile on the floor and halfway up the walls, a classic look that never looks dated.
There’s also a laundry room to the right, fitted out with a full-size Whirlpool washer and dryer as well as abundant cabinets and counterspace for folding and storing all the towels. There’s a utility sink and a door opening onto a side porch, so those fresh from the pool or bay can shed their wet clothing before walking on the hardwood.
Two steps down, the great room is large and open with abundant light streaming in through multiple windows and a sliding glass door, all offering fantastic views.
The hardwood flooring here has two rows of dark inlaid wood running around the perimeter, proving it’s just more special than an ordinary floor.
A gas fireplace with a wood mantel and huge television above to the right would command attention if there weren’t so much to see outside. A large sectional sofa sits atop an area rug and a granite-topped KraftMaid wet bar is just steps away in the corner, offering glass-front cabinets, a beverage refrigerator, wine rack and sink.
The gourmet kitchen and dining area take up the left half of the great room.
The kitchen features a large, two-level center island with red granite matching the wet bar and a dacor undercounter microwave. Three pendant lights hang above the three stolls.
More KraftMaid cabinets line two walls, with the same red granite and a stylish tile backsplash.
Appliances include a KitchenAid side-by-side refrigerator/freezer, GE Profile four-burner gas range set in the counter with an oven below and a GE Profile dishwasher to the right of a stainless-steel sink.
The dining area, in the rear to take advantage of the view, sports a long wood table with seating for eight beneath a chandelier.
Back in the foyer, the staircase has wood treads and white risers, ascending into the tower seen from outside, atop which large windows provide natural light.
Like the first floor, the hallway has wainscoting and hardwood flooring.
On the left in the front of the house, the second bedroom has wall-to-wall carpeting, a queen-size bed, walk-in closet and a full bathroom with a peaked ceiling, Corian-topped vanity and fully tiled shower.
Down the hall toward the rear, the third bedroom is on the left. Across the hall, the fourth bedroom is suited to someone with small children, as the bathroom has a tub.
The entire rear of the second floor is the master suite. The door opens onto a sitting room with a gas fireplace and wall-mounted television to the right. A sofa sits atop an area rug just inside a sliding glass door opening onto the back porch, a fantastic spot to enjoy coffee as the sun comes up, warming early risers both inside and out.
The bedchamber features a king-size bed, lofty cathedral ceiling and multiple windows overlooking the lagoon.
The hall leading to the bathroom has his and hers walk-in closets to either side, as well as a separate room for the necessary business. The larger room features a tile floor with a mosaic pattern, long granite-topped vanity with his and hers sinks, a fully tiled shower and deep tub with jets large enough for two.
Atop another set of stairs is the third floor, which is not only the home’s sixth bedroom but a large space with a full bathroom, sitting area, play room and several closets. In the center of the room, a cupola bathes the area in light. Two skylights join in the fun.
There also is access to a cozy sitting area with the best view in the house. It’s sheltered and would make a terrific spot to watch a storm.
The home is listed for $3.5 million with Brian Logue of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Fox & Roach Realtors. Call (609) 827-0820 or email brian.logue@foxroach.com for more information or to set up an appointment to see this wonderful home.