High-end swim club, housing and boat yard
SOMERS POINT — A major project on a prominent corner moved a large step closer to fruition last week.
The Planning Board unanimously approved three separate applications Feb. 19 to allow for a mix of commercial and residential uses on the properties bordered by Bay, Maryland and Pleasant avenues.
Maryland Avenue is a main thoroughfare for summer traffic headed to Ocean City and the Absecon Island communities of Longport, Margate, Ventnor and Atlantic City.
Brothers Sean, Todd and Chris Scarborough of Scarborough Properties met with Councilwoman Janice Johnston, then City Council president, and Councilman Richard DePamphilis on June 21, 2022, at the corner where workers were demolishing a two-story cinderblock building that had been on the property for decades.
“This is a major intersection into our town and it already looks better,” Johnston said at the time, the sound of demolition loud in the background.
At the time, Scarborough Properties was hoping to build a 60-unit senior housing facility at the site.
“We wanted to tear down the building no matter what. We have a huge investment for over 40 years on Bay Avenue and it was an eyesore. It’s an eyesore for all of Bay Avenue. We were taking it down regardless, the fact that we believe that there is a project behind it means it’s even better,” Sean Scarborough said at the time.
The new project involves a change to the previously approved application for the Somers Point Paddle Club — a private swimming club with a bar and restaurant — single and multifamily housing and continuation of boat yard operations.
The three properties — 520 Bay Ave., 100 E. Maryland Ave. and 7 Kappella Ave. — are all part of a redevelopment agreement reached between entities under the umbrella of Scarborough Properties and City Council in December 2024. They are Harbour Cove Marina LLC, Rt. 152 Partners LLC and Bass Harbor LLC.
The approvals cleared the way for completion of the Paddle Club — a complex planned for the corner of Bay and Pleasant avenues overlooking the Harbour Cove North Basin with three swimming pools, indoor and outdoor seating — that was previously approved in 2022.
The first approval involved three affordable housing units in a building that now will be used as storage for the Paddle Club. Those three units were relocated.
The Salt House complex will include 24 single-family homes on the corner of Bay and Maryland avenues. Project engineer Jason Sciullo said the singles would have four bedrooms in a 2,200-square-foot upside-down design with the great room on the second floor to provide better water views. Four parking spots would be provide in the two-car garage beneath and driveway out front.
He characterized them as luxury second homes that likely would be occupied only part of the year. A homeowners association will maintain the property.
The multifamily units, known as Salt Creek, would be split between two buildings. Parking will be provided in a surface lot. The board suggested and the developer agreed to include bike racks.
A walkway with a wood border wall will wrap around the entire housing complex, providing a barrier from the road and an opportunity for recreation. It will be lighted for safety.
The affordable housing element, which reportedly received approval from the Council on Affordable Housing, is significant because a previous agreement would have allowed for 126 housing units there, only six of which would have been deemed affordable.
Also included is the continued operation of the boat yard, which predates construction of Harbour Cove Condominiums, operating since at least the 1950s, according to testimony.
The property, along Pleasant Avenue and stretching to Bass Harbour, will continue to be used for boat storage, maintenance and repair. However, in the boating season, the lot will be opened up for parking for Paddle Club patrons.
Three shipping containers will be kept on the lot for storage.
Scarborough Properties operates paddle clubs at Cape May Marina and in Brigantine. The Scarborough family has developed multiple properties in the city including Harbour Cove Marina and Shore Medical Center. Completion of the Somers Point facility initially was set for May 2023.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff