Motel Conversions

Wildwood Crest attempts to stem loss of motels
Monday, August 14, 2006
By WILLIAM H. SOKOLIC
Courier-Post Staff

WILDWOOD CREST
As part of efforts to stem the loss of motels, the borough -- in conjunction with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority -- hired an engineering and planning company to study the situation.

The work done by Vollmer Associates, funded with $30,000 in CRDA money and matched by Wildwood Crest, should be finished next month.

The borough has lost 20 motels in the recent past.

"We wanted to know what can be done to slow the demolitions," said Karlis Povisils, director of policy research for the CRDA and project manager for the study.

Among questions expected to be answered: how the lodging industry fares in the marketplace; how that will change in the future in terms of the length of the season, and the condition and status of the motels.

"A lot of the buildings do not have the amenities needed to be competitive," said Jeremy Alvarez, director of planning for the Philadelphia office of Vollmer Associates.

Owners would like to expand and modify their properties, but they face administrative and regulatory constraints from state and local authorities, he said.

"We're using a panel of locals to come up with a draft set of recommendations," Alvarez said. "The time for pointing fingers is over. We hope to emerge with a proposal for action by CAFRA and the State Historic preservation office. Do they need to do things differently? What does the municipality need to do? What things can motel owners do? It'll be a recipe book with a variety of things."

Owners might need tax credits, Povisils said. Local restrictions on signage may need to be lifted, or federal assistance may be necessary.

Correcting tax inequities may be another avenue, he said.

For example, motel visitors have to pay an occupancy tax but condo guests do not.

But don't expect a silver-bullet solution, Povisils said.

"Maybe nothing can be done," he said. "If nothing can be done, we want to know."

The Wildwood Crest-CRDA study is just one avenue in the march toward preservation.

Earlier this year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation designated the Wildwoods motel collection as one of the 11 most endangered historic sites.

"Hopefully, the designation will be a wake-up call to those who can make a difference with this effort," said Jack Morey, founder of the Doo Wop Preservation League, which trumpets efforts to save the motels.

North Wildwood is reviewing policies to see what can be done to encourage condo units to return to the pool in the form of "condotels."

"We've had some discussions about an overlay zone to make it more attractive," said city administrator Raymond A. Townsend.

Reach William H. Sokolic at (609) 823-9159 or wsokolic@courierpostonline.com