Seaport Plan

North Wildwood to hold hearing on Seaport plan
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Updated: Tuesday, June 13, 2006

>NORTH WILDWOOD — City Council will hold a public hearing next week on plans to revive the city-owned Seaport Pier.

The pier, which sits on the east side of the Boardwalk between 21st and 23rd avenues, has been home to a variety of shops and games through the years but now sits “vacant, unutilized and deteriorating,” according to the pier's redevelopment ordinance.

Mayor Bill Henfey said the city is already advertising for developers interested in bringing new life to the pier in the form of restaurants, recreational games, such as miniature golf, or other entertainment options.

Henfey said the deadline for developers to submit their initial redevelopment plans, along with a $7,500 deposit, is Aug. 4.

Those plans will then be reviewed by committee and whittled down to the ones the city most prefers.

From there, the developers will be able to submit more detailed plans, and one winning plan will be selected.

According to the ordinance, the pier “should not only provide North Wildwood with substantial positive revenue, but has the potential of being a primary agent in the revitalization of North Wildwood's Boardwalk economy.”

“I'm anxious. I really am ready to see something new up there,” Henfey said.

This summer, the pier will remain empty except for an information center, some portable toilets and maybe a display or two, Henfey said.

The 51,543 square foot property belongs to the city and would likely be leased to a developer, although the city could consider selling the pier, he said.

According to the ordinance, the pier is in need of considerable investment before it can be made ready for visitors, and that investment is more than the city can undertake on its own.

The pier has been in the redevelopment works since June 2005 when the City Council directed the Planning Board to start work on labeling the pier as an area in need of redevelopment. It has since received that designation, and the redevelopment plan has also received the Planning Board's approval.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:Tilfillian@pressofac.com