Pacific Ave. Project Could Add Residential Properties

WILDWOOD – Residents voiced their ideas and concerns about a Pacific Avenue redevelopment project to planners, financial advisers, Mayor Peter Byron, and Freeholder Will Morey, at a fourth stakeholder meeting held via Zoom Oct. 20. 
In the proposed project, which would be paid 80% by the county and 20% by the city, planners revealed that a significant increase in residential properties in the corridor is being considered.
“I think that the sense is, going into this, that there’s an aspect of enhanced residential. Bringing more residential. More community aspects, whether it be year-round, we are hopeful, but also seasonal, to the Pacific Avenue corridor is what is needed to enhance real estate value, to enhance retail opportunities and things like that,” said Morey.
Robert Powell, a financial adviser on the project, showed a comparison of new residential building permits issued between 2012-2019 among county beach towns. 
Wildwood was last in the county in new residential building, with 81 permits issued. North Wildwood had more than four times as many in that same period, while Wildwood Crest had nearly twice as many, according to Powell’s presentation. 
Wildwood has the county’s highest property tax rate, at 2.5%, which is double the county average. Powell said that this increase in ratables would help lower the tax rate. 
Michael Sullivan, the project planner, said part of the process of figuring out what will make a successful project is figuring out what is wrong with Pacific Avenue. 
“We can use this as a fulcrum for the renewal of Pacific Avenue as a place within Wildwood and incentivizes new investment within Pacific Avenue that will promote a new vibrancy, energy, and a new neighborhood vibe, hopefully,” Sullivan said.  
Retail and other businesses would also be incorporated, and planners argue the new residential units would create new customers for businesses in the district. 
Morey said young professionals were a good demographic to target as potential buyers. 
“I was really encouraged by at least one developer who foresaw the possibility of young professional rentals. Where we actually attract young people to a community environment where there is a nice vibe, and the shopping can contribute to that, but the notion of keeping this affordable for young people, young couples, young professionals, I think, is really an attractive opportunity to explore,” said Morey. 
Sullivan said that most developers wanted more than one lot to develop, but assured those at the meeting that “we wouldn’t want this to become some sort of monolithic corridor where it was just lacking character, everything looked the same.” 
Morey added that developers wouldn’t be precluded if they only wanted to develop a single lot. 
Taylor Henry, president, Wildwood Historical Society, submitted written questions to the panel about the project, including whether the project would stray from Wildwood’s blue-collar roots and make way for new upper-class residents. 
“We don’t see new development as excluding people who already live in Wildwood or want to work in Wildwood. That’s what we’re hearing from the developers, and we think those exist together,” Sullivan said. 
Randy Senna, owner of Randy Land, an unopened amusement museum on Pacific Avenue (https://bit.ly/2G19ZnI), argued against the residential emphasis. 
“This is an amusement town. This is a resort,” Senna told the panel. 
“Pacific Avenue is an area that deserves to be an entertainment district and could be developed into such, which would then increase the ratables for the surrounding areas. There is plenty of residential land around this town that you don’t need to chloroform Pacific Avenue, which is only going to benefit the developers,” he said.
Cathy Smith, a longtime shop owner in five locations on Pacific Avenue, shared some of the challenges she faced over the years. 
“There is no good spot on Pacific Avenue because I’ve been to all of them,” Smith said. “Right now, the bank is going to foreclose on me, so no matter what happens, I probably won’t be there to see it happen, but I would like to hear some incentive to keep the businesses there now.”
“It’s registering with me at this point,” Morey responded. “Clearly, adding an element of community and getting more people to the area is really something we are very much focused on. I think that a mix of housing that respects the entertainment district, Randy (Senna) had mentioned, and sort of incorporates the retail aspects of it, it appears to be the end goal at this time.” 
It would likely be five years before any residential units were finished and new residents would be able to move in. Preliminary planning will officially begin next month.  
To contact Shay Roddy, email sroddy@cmcherald.com.