OCEAN CITY — Closed by city officials over structural concerns this spring, the Seaspray condominium at 3313 Bay Ave. has been listed for sale with an asking price of $7 million.
Chain link fence surrounds the 32-unit structure at one of the main entranceways to the barrier island resort town. The building appears unlikely to reopen this summer, with city officials stating that significant structural repairs are needed before the building could be considered safe to use.
Advertisements for the sale describe the property as a redevelopment opportunity.
“This development opportunity offers a blend of financial rewards, community benefits, and personal fulfillment, making it a highly attractive opportunity for developers and investors alike,” reads the real estate listing. It mentions convenient access to the beach, Boardwalk and other city attractions but does not mention the condition of the building.
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The listing also mentions a strong demand for coastal properties, promising a lucrative return on investment. Jenifer Raffa of Sabal Real Estate, named in the listing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This is one of the avenues the new board is looking at to present to the community,” said Dennis E. Block, one of the owners in the condo complex who has advocated for it to be demolished. Earlier this year, the condo board was replaced with new members.
There was no response to an email sent to the condominium’s management company requesting comment. Another condo owner, who has been at odds with Block over the future of the building, could not be contacted.
The city had closed the building in 2023 but lifted the decision after a new engineer’s report found the building safe to use, at least in the short term. The units were in use for summer 2023, but the city put up new red tags in the spring after someone’s leg pushed through the landing on a set of stairs leading to the second floor.
Several owners of units in The Seaspray condominium at 3313 Bay Ave. questioned Ocean City Council at a recent meeting about the decision to shut their building, some citing an engineering report that found the structure was not in immediate danger of collapse.
Some units were used as summer rentals, while others were year-round homes. In May, city Business Administrator George Savastano said it was not an easy decision to close the building, but a necessary one.
According to city officials, the red tags were lifted for last summer with the understanding that structural repairs would be undertaken, but no work has been completed. Former board members and owners have said at City Council meetings and in previous interviews that the condo organization had spent significant money on a detailed structural analysis with the intent of undertaking repairs.
The prognosis for the building differs between engineering reports, but reports going back decades found significant repairs were needed. A report by Charles Endicott of Endicott Engineering LLC, presented to the city construction office last year, argued the structure was no longer fit for use and should be demolished.
Earlier this year, Monica Green of Action Management Group in Medford, Burlington County, the management company for the Seaspray, said the new condo board would look at every option for the building, including renovation and sale for redevelopment.
Also earlier this year, New Jersey approved new inspection and maintenance requirements for multi-unit buildings, inspired in part by the collapse of a 12-story condominium in Surfside, Florida, in 2021.
In addition to requiring regular inspections and maintenance, the law requires condominium associations to maintain a capital reserve fund with enough money to cover maintenance and repairs.
“The city has ordered the association to undertake a new structural analysis of all of the common areas and buildings of the complex to determine the needed and necessary structural repairs that will be required to be performed by the association in accordance with the new law,” Block said this week.
That analysis is being conducted, he said.
Ocean City had closed the Seaspray condominiums a year ago but allowed the building to reopen for the summer on the basis of an engineering report that indicated it was safe for occupancy. The red tags went back up this spring after someone's leg pushed through the steel landing of the outside stairs of the building, prompting a new look at the structure.
“The city has made it clear to the new board and the community that until the structural repairs are made in accordance with this new analysis and report that no one will be allowed on the property and no unit owners will be allowed to occupy or enter their units,” he wrote in an emailed response to questions.
In previous interviews, owners of the Seaspray units have said if the building were to be sold, the proceeds would be divvied up by the relative value of each of the 32 units. If it were divided evenly, $7 million would be $218,750 for 32 owners, minus various costs associated with the sale.
Listings posted online show a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit in the Seaspray sold for $200,000 in 2019.
The building dates to about 1960. In 1980, it was divided and sold as condominiums.
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