SOMERS POINT — With the toss of some dirt from a group wielding golden shovels, the ground was officially broken April 12 on the new showroom for South Jersey Yacht Sales.
Located at 680 Bay Ave., the 10,527-square-foot building will include a showroom large enough to display center-console boats up to 60 feet and 12 offices for administrative and sales professional staff members.
The old building was demolished in February and the site was cleared.
Stephen W. Eigenrauch, director of business development and principal for Grace Construction Management Co., said pile-driving began that morning on the perimeter and would advance inward. That is expected to take about another week.
“The hard part’s done — the planning, design, getting through the approval process — now we just hope the weather cooperates,” Eigenrauch said, noting plans call for completion in late fall or early winter.
He said the entrance to the one-story building would be raised about 12 steps from the ground level.
South Jersey Yacht Sales owner George Robinson III said Somers Point is the perfect location for the facility, which will offer boat sales, service, storage, electronics and financing.
He said his father and grandfather were boaters and his family has owned a home in Ocean City since 1966.
“I’ve been a boater, kept my boats here over the years. It’s a very good location, easy to get to from just about anywhere up and down the Jersey coastline,” Robinson said. “It’s very strategic for the company.”
Unwilling to put a price tag on the project, he said the investment would be “substantial.”
“We are confident over the years that we will see our return on investment,” he said, noting it is a family-held business with his wife, Beryl, and son, Greg Robinson, 26, expected to follow.
“It’s going to be multigenerational,” he said.
Robinson said the city has been easy to work with through the approval process.
“The support we have gotten from Somers Point has been terrific,” Robinson said.
Mayor Jack Glasser and City Council President Janice Johnston, donning a hard hat and wielding a golden shovel, said the city is happy to have them.
“We’ve always been looking to enhance Bay Avenue. It’s nice that tax dollars are coming in, obviously we need it, but this is something that enhances everything that we have. We are building up our town and in the long run making it more marketable,” Glasser said.
“We’re excited that someone wants to make this kind of investment in Somers Point,” Johnston said.
Robinson said the improvements are a continuation of his commitment to upgrade the facility after acquiring it in late 2017. In addition to the facilities in Somers Point, the holdings include a 10-acre site in Egg Harbor Township, where there is storage room for about 350 boats as well as service and repair shops.
In addition to the showroom, other major capital improvements are planned for the service center and marina. Robinson said new composite bulkheading and a new marina outer breakwater are being installed. In addition, the rebuild of a 24-foot by 75-foot liftwell has been completed to better accommodate a 70 metric ton Travelift.
A new concrete forklift launch/haul pad has been completed and a total remodeling of the service center office building includes the addition of a kitchen and a customer waiting lounge, according to the release.
Other improvements either already completed or scheduled include the addition of a boat lift self-propelled remote operated trailer and installation of new security cameras and lighting around the facility.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
