Politics & Government

Plan for Former Wawa Property Wins Approval

The land is at the intersection of Fourth Street and West Avenue.

The Ocean City Planning Board on Wednesday approved a subdivision plan that will bring 12 residences and a commercial property to a vacant tract at the corner of West Avenue and Fourth Street.

The land was formerly occupied by a Wawa Food Market that closed about five years ago. Unable to find another business to buy the property, Wawa let it sit vacant until a November zoning change permitted residential uses.

City Council approved an ordinance in November 2012 that rezoned the bay side of West Avenue between Third and Fourth streets. It rezoned part of the 190-foot-wide Wawa property (40 feet of frontage) to mixed commercial/residential use (commercial use on the first floor and residences above). It rezoned the remainder of the half-block from Neighborhood Business to residential (R-2-30 or duplexes with 30-foot frontages).  

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That opened the door for a subdivision plan that calls for six duplexes and one mixed-use property. The corner property will include a first-floor business with two residences above.

The corner property requires a height variance, which the Planning Board approved, along with side yard and glass percentage on mixed use variances, and various design waivers.

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The developer will be required to reconstruct the alley behind the project to accommodate drainage concerns from the new properties, and the applicant would have to restore West Avenue to repair any cuts made for utility connections.

The applicant is listed as "352 West Avenue, LLC." The LLC was formed on March 4, 2011, and the sole registered agent is attorney Avery S. Teitler at 109 34th Street in Ocean City, according to state Division of Revenue records.

On Wednesday, Teitler described the applicant only as a lot of different investors.

He said construction should begin within three months.

The properties are within a "V Zone" on FEMA's Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE) map, and the residences will be built at 14 feet above sea level (NAVD88) meeting the most stringent new flood-elevation guidelines.

Jeff Quintin, the listing agent for the new properties, said on Wednesday that the six duplex units (three bedrooms and two baths) will list for just under $340,000 and $360,000. He said the larger units above the commercial property (four bedrooms) will list for about $400,000.

The commercial property does not yet have a prospective buyer, according to Teitler. But a deed restriction that would prevent a competing convenience store or coffee shop was never required by Wawa. The potential restriction had been cited as one of the reasons why Wawa had trouble finding a buyer.


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