Roy Wagner, Ocean City Councilman, and Charlie London show the outside of the Ocean City Lifesaving Station at 801 4th St. in Ocean City. Photo by: Anthony Smedile

By MARTIN DEANGELIS, Press of AC Staff Writer | Posted: Sunday, March 7, 2010

OCEAN CITY — Charlie London wants to put you in this house.

Or you. Or you.

Actually London, 51, the president of the Saving Our Station Coalition, would like to see just about anybody move into the house on the northeast corner of Fourth Street and Atlantic Avenue here, because this house isn’t just another house.

It’s the old Ocean City Lifesaving Station, which dates back to the 1880s — and which has been the subject of a series of court battles that started in the 1990s and has dragged on for a long decade since.

The station was built by the United States Lifesaving Service and then became U.S. Coast Guard property when those two agencies were merged. It was sold and became a private home in 1945 and has gone through a series of owners since, including ones who bought it in 1999, planning to demolish the building and replace it with three new duplex condos on the 130-by-100 foot corner lot.

That gave birth to the Saving Our Station Coalition, which started those court fights and tried several other plans for rescuing the building, including getting the city to buy the property for more than $3 million — a move voters rejected in a 2005 referendum.  There have also been proposals to move the building and to get the city to trade for it with an unused piece of city land, but so far, nothing has worked to guarantee that the building and its history won’t be destroyed.

In the latest court case, though, the owners agreed with the SOS Coalition and the city on a “preservation price” for the property of $887,500. But that agreement, helped along by a judge, came with a deadline: If there’s no buyer by May 14, the owners can get rid of the building.

And that pressure has turned London and other members of his coalition into committed — but no-commission — real-estate sellers of a sort. They’ve held two open houses already trying to lure the right buyers to the house, and they have two more open houses scheduled this month, on Saturday and then again March 27.

“At this point, we’re planning another two in April, and one more in May, if not two,” said London, 51, who helped lead a visitor on a weekend tour of the 135-year-old building and pointed out some of the details that its fans hope can attract a buyer who would want to live in a historic house.

They include wide-planked hardwood floors all through the home. There’s a working fireplace that dominates a front parlor, a sprawling, open kitchen with an island area topped by a butcher-block counter, four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms.

“The building is solid,” adds Kim Baker, a retired writer and editor who lives in Egg Harbor Township, and is the SOS Coalition’s historian. “I mean, it was built to last.”

They point to the 180-square-foot greenhouse as they walk by, mention the high ceilings and “a lot of closet space,” says London, strolling down a first-floor hallway lined with closets on one side. For more storage, there’s a detatched garage outside.

London lives in Ventnor and works at Atlantic City International Airport now, but he got involved in the lifesaving station when he lived right next door for a dozen or so years. He leads the way to the upstairs, where the master bedroom — which used to be the crew’s quarters — has a bathroom that’s so big, he sees it being turned into two bathrooms to make the master suite a little more attractive.  

Above it all, on the third floor there’s a cupola that the lifesaving crew used as its lookout — and that still has an ocean view, Baker and London promise, even if the windows are boarded up now.

“And this is considered beach-block,” Baker adds — although it is a full, long block to the Boardwalk and ocean, past many homes built on the beach after the lifesaving station went up in what was then a largely empty area of town.

The terms of the historic-preservation agreement say a prospective owner can do just about anything they want inside the house — including convert it into a duplex, the tour guides say. But they warn that buyers have to protect the “historic integrity” of the building, so they’d be strictly limited in what they can do to the outside of the home.

Ocean City Councilman Roy Wagner is still pushing to get the city to do a land-swap for the building and help convert it into a maritime museum, but he’ll be satisfied with any plan that will preserve the lifesaving station.

“The firstest with the mostest gets it,” Wagner said.

London isn’t giving up hope on public preservation plans, and he looks forward to a city meeting planned for this week that could help make that happen at the new price — which is less than a third of what the city planned to buy the place for in 2005.

“We’re going on both paths, full speed ahead,” he said.

So even though the house wasn’t scheduled to be open, when two visitors on a house-hunting mission in Ocean City went to the door on Saturday, London happily let them in and showed them around.

 Jim and Kristin Kline are from Sparta, in Sussex County, but they’ve visited Ocean City for years and they’ve always wondered how the lifesaving station was on the inside.

 “It looks like a great house,” Kristin said. “Lots of charm and character.”

Her husband agreed — to a point.

“It has the character,” he said, “but it needs work.”   

The people making the sales pitch understand that. But London argues that at the court-mandated, non-negotiable purchase price, even if it takes $200,000 worth of renovations, a beach-block house on an oversized lot for less than $1.1 million qualifies as a positive bargain in today’s Ocean City real-estate market.

Oh, and speaking of the size of the lot, near the end of the tour, London pointed out a feature of this property that could make the lifesaving station the dream property for almost anybody in Ocean City — or in any other traffic-clogged local shore town almost any summer day.

“Out back,” he said, leading the way, “you have probably 12 parking spaces.”

Obtaining a loan last year was not an easy feat for Americans, as banks were quick to pull back on whom they lent to and how much they gave.

But in New Jersey, a borrower’s application was less likely to get tossed into the reject pile.

While lending nationwide dropped nearly

7.5 percent from year-end 2008 to 2009 – the sharpest decline in lending since 1942 – banks in New Jersey went in the other direction.

The amount of lending was up 4 percent, or from $96.4 billion, in 2008 to $100.2 billion in 2009, even as the number of state-insured institutions fell slightly from 126 to 123, according to new data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

In that same period, the number of U.S. banks dropped 3.5 percent, or from 8,305 to 8,012.

It is hard to pinpoint exactly why lending in New Jersey was on an upswing last year, although John McWeeney Jr., co-chief executive of the New Jersey Bankers Association, says it could be as simple as banks making the effort to lend.

“Most of our members are community banks, and they make their money on bringing in deposits and making loans. They want to make loans,” McWeeney said.

David J. Hemple, president and CEO of Century Savings Bank in Vineland, said its loan volume increased last year after customers fled the larger banks. While mortgage lending was relatively flat for the bank, it managed to surpass its goal of originating $1 million worth of commercial loans each month, he said.

“We’ve picked up some good business loans,” he added. “These were businesses that had a good history, but they got a call from their bank that their line of credit had been canceled due to non-usage. When you’re told that, it doesn’t make too many businesses want to stay with their original bank.”

New Jersey banks also have shown resilience during the economic downturn. The FDIC reported that 140 banks failed in 2009; only two of them were based in New Jersey.

“A lot of our banks have stuck to good underwriting throughout this and they’re not experiencing problems,” McWeeney said.

A review of publicly traded banks with branches in southern New Jersey showed most reported lending growth in 2009.

TD Bank, for instance, with 37 branches in the region, said its average loans increased $6 billion across the United States, with business loans up 6 percent and personal loans up 25 percent.

For Gloucester County-based Parke Bank, which has a branch in Northfield, net lending increased 9.5 percent, totaling $591 million at the end of 2009.

“We’re still in the market for loans if they make financial sense in this economy,” Parke CEO Vito S. Pantilione said.

Parke entered into a joint venture last year with another company to originate and sell Small Business Administration loans. From August to December, the bank closed $4 million in such loans, Pantilione said.

While numbers show lending was up, money is not free-flowing as it was before the recession, McWeeney said. Winning loan approval still requires a good credit history, acceptable income and, for entrepreneurs, the ability to show that your business will turn a profit.

Mays Landing resident Craig Phillips had all those essentials going for him when he was recently approved for a $100,000 loan from TD Bank. Phillips, 63, needed the loan to open a business, Ocean City Dog and Kitty, which will debut on the Ocean City Boardwalk on April 2 selling pet toys and treats.

“I’ve done business with TD Bank for many years with my other business (Pet Pros Pet Supplies in Somers Point) and my personal accounts,” he said. “I demonstrated that we’ve had a good balance, we never had a problem with bounced checks.”

Phillips also got the loan backed by the SBA, which has various programs that will guarantee bank loans for small businesses, effectively sharing in the risk should the borrower default.

Despite his sterling background and the SBA’s backing, the loan approval still took several weeks, Phillips said, because the bank wanted to fully review his application.

“Those days of just going in and asking for the money, that’s all changed now,” said Joe Molineaux, director of the Small Business Development Center at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

He said that banks are lending, but borrowers need to be realistic about whether they can get a loan. That includes recognizing whether you have decent credit, some form of collateral and a track record for understanding a business and showing that you can make money.

CAPE MAY – A local condominium owner who faced a fine of more than $4,000 for cutting down a pin oak tree without city permission got a reprieve of sorts on Wednesday.

George Dascenzo, of Lamplighter Condominiums on Washington Street, said his case was dismissed from Cape May Municipal Court.

“The judge and prosecutor said the city has no rights on private property. I kind of knew that because I read the law, but this was the first time somebody took it to court,” Dascenzo said.

Cape May Shade Tree Commission Chairman Jay Schatz, however, said the case is far from over. Schatz said Dascenzo is apparently referring to a state tree law that regulates cuttings on public lands.

Schatz said the city adopted its own tree ordinance in 2006 that requires permission from the commission to cut down a tree on private property if its diameter is 8 inches or more. There is also a permit required that costs $25.

“He was written a summons under the wrong ordinance,” Schatz said.

But there is a potential problem with the 2006 ordinance, as it was adopted by council but not included in the city’s code book. Schatz said the commission is awaiting a ruling by City Solicitor Tony Monzo on whether this matters and if a new summons can be issued. Schatz believes the ordinance is law even if it was not codified.

“George thinks he’s won. I’d rather wait until we get a ruling from Monzo,” Schatz said.

Dascenzo said the ordinance he was cited under said he can’t remove trees, shrubs and flowers from parks and public places. He claimed the Shade Tree Commission has been “bullying people” about private property they have no jurisdiction over.

“We should tell the people they can cut down their trees,” Dascenzo said.

Code Enforcement Officer John Queenan said the code book lists the 2006 ordinance as pending.

“I can’t write a summons for a pending ordinance,” Queenan said.

He said there is an earlier city ordinance calling for a permit to plant or cut down a tree but he did not use this one.

Dascenzo said the tree was causing problems with sidewalks and drainage at the condominium complex, on whose board he serves. Dascenzo said a contractor was hired to remove the tree but could not get a city permit after another condo resident told the commission she did not want it removed.

“I decided to take matters into my own hands,” Dascenzo said.

That statement sounds like Dascenzo cut the tree down, although he says he never admitted he did the cutting in court. He simply said the tree “disappeared” in November.

Queenan said other trees at Lamplighter have also mysteriously disappeared.

“Trees have disappeared in front of two more condo owners who voted against cutting the original tree down,” Queenan said.

Schatz said the commission denied approval in October to take the tree down but said it would help with fixing the sidewalk. He said the oak tree was then girdled, which would kill it, so a summons was issued. Then the tree disappeared.

Schatz said City Council adopted the 2006 ordinance after two gigantic trees, a cottonwood and an Eastern elm, were taken down. Fines are based on the size of a tree and would have been more than $12,000 for the two large trees if the ordinance was in place. The formula for the pin oak calls for a fine of $4,153.

Schatz said the commission approves most tree removals.

“In most cases, they illustrate a compelling need and we let them take it down. We’re not unreasonable on this,” Schatz said.

Monzo said he will research the law on whether an adopted ordinance can be enforced if it was not codified. He recalled there was no opposition when council adopted the 2006 ordinance.

Lamplighter Condos in Cape May, NJ

Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. Estimated opening Spring 2011

By MICHAEL CLARK, Press of AC Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Unlikely forces will band together today to protest a $300 million tax-incentive plan that Revel Entertainment Group is relying on to open its $2.6 billion casino project in Atlantic City.

Steve Lonegan, a conservative gubernatorial candidate last year, and members of the powerful hotel and casino workers’ union UNITE-HERE are scheduled to protest in front of the Jersey City offices of Morgan Stanley, the financial services provider that owns the South Inlet site where Revel sits.

Lonegan said his conservative advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity, hopes to educate taxpayers outside the southern New Jersey region about the proposed deal.

“New Jersey cannot afford this bailout mania,” he told The Press of Atlantic City on Tuesday. “As people learn more and more, I don’t know how people are going to tolerate this.”

The plan would save Revel about $300 million in state sales taxes over 20 years, which could go a long way to attracting potential financiers. Lonegan said his group also is opposed to a $50 million plan that would redirect future Atlantic City property-tax revenue to fund infrastructure improvements around the half-built casino.

The Revel project remains under slow construction as company officials work to secure financing, the prospects of which have spiraled since the collapse of the financial market in 2008. In January 2009, Revel officials laid off 400 construction workers and pushed back the project’s grand opening from 2010 to 2011.

Revel Chairman and CEO Kevin DeSanctis initially had little reaction to news of the protest Tuesday, simply saying, “they’re persistent.” But he soon added to that.

“If they have a problem, I wish they would speak to the legislation,” DeSanctis said, referring to the stimulus act passed in the summer that enables abatements to qualified applicants. “I don’t recall anyone coming out like this when the legislation was passed.”

DeSanctis and his company has faced stiff opposition from Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of UNITE-HERE. The union leader started a petition drive against Revel’s proposal, which required Atlantic City Council approval. The group has also lobbied state legislators unsuccessfully.

Lonegan, who credited McDevitt for organizing today’s rally, said state lawmakers are describing the proposal as “a done deal.”

McDevitt, who did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday, is also the first political opponent of the plan to change the target from Revel to Morgan Stanley, a clear attempt to capitalize on widespread outrage over the banking bailouts of 2008. Morgan Stanley received $10 billion from the federal government.

Morgan Stanley purchased the city land in 2006, but Revel filed the application and is lobbying to obtain tax breaks.

“Revel made the application, not Morgan Stanley,” DeSanctis said. “There’s just too much confusion out there. The point is being lost.”

Staff photo by Vernon Ogrodnek This 4,000-square-foot office building on New Road in Northfield was recently leased by a tenant who is expanding and wants to stay in the area, said Samantha Roessler, vice president of Rose Commercial Real Estate.

By KEVIN POST Press of A.C.Business Editor | Sunday, February 28, 2010

Local and national reports this week indicate the commercial real estate market is finally bottoming, making 2010 the year it slowly begins to recover.

A Congressional Oversight Panel report on commercial real estate loans said $1.4 trillion in such mortgages will require refinancing in 2011 through 2014. The bad news? Nearly half are underwater, with the borrower owing more on the loan than the property is currently worth.

The quarterly commercial outlook from the National Association of Realtors said increased demand for office and warehouse space isn’t likely before 2011.

Southern New Jersey commercial property experts see the same trends, with just a bit of positive activity.

Rich Baehrle, commercial specialist with Vanguard Property Group in Egg Harbor Township, said tight credit is hurting commercial markets because they differ from residential.

“One of the biggest challenges in the commercial market is 90 to 95 percent of loans are written as 5-year adjustable mortgages,” Baehrle said.

In the past, if property owners paid on time and remained in good standing, renewal of the loan was almost automatic, he said. Now, lenders are scrutinizing loans and properties closely.

“If a bank’s not going to renew its commitment, it’s very challenging for the buyer to go out and find another lender,” he said.

A key factor for banks is the amount of rent revenue a property generates. This month’s survey by the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors found that rent concessions are being reported almost everywhere.

“When that happens, it has a negative ripple effect,” Baehrle said. “If the drop is $100,000 a year in rent, which is conceivable, the value of the property might diminish by $950,000 to $1 million.”

Samantha Roessler, vice president of Rose Commercial Real Estate and manager of its shore office in Northfield, said she’s seeing the same factors of tougher financing and tenant instability.

She said development of new commercial properties, particularly retail, will be on hold as the market starts to recover.

“In 2008 it all came down, 2009 was a leveling-off period and we have to rebuild in 2010,” Roessler said. “I think we’re dealing with the product we currently have on the market. Until our vacancies go down a little, we won’t see any new development.”

One problem, she said, is that commercial sellers have not yet made the price adjustments that residential owners managed over a long period.

“And land in our area is a tough sell because of the time frames to get approvals to do anything on it and the costs associated with that,” Roessler said.

There are positives in the commercial sector in the region, but they’re small.

“We’re starting to see an uptick in activity. The NextGen Aviation Research Park is spurring some growth, with two contracts going to be released shortly,” Baehrle said. “Quite a few people are looking at that.”

“We’re doing deals,” Roessler said. “They might not be the largest deals, but there’s still activity.”

The industrial and office Realtors survey’s measure of expected activity registered its first gain — a slight one — in the fourth quarter after declining for 11 straight quarters.

Fifty-five percent of industry professionals expect the commercial market to improve in the second quarter.

The National Realtors outlook predicted worsening conditions this year for the office, industrial and retail sectors, with significant improvement only in the multi-family housing sector.

Office vacancy rates nationwide are expected to increase from 16.3 percent to 17.6 percent by the end of the year and average 17.4 in 2011. Office rents are expected to decline 7.2 percent.

Industrial space is expected to fare a bit better, with vacancy rates rising from 13.9 percent to 14.9 percent, but rents are forecast to fall 9.6 percent.

The retail vacancy rate is expected to increase slightly, from 12.4 percent to 12.7 percent, with rents declining just 2.4 percent this year.

An increase in the number of American households should reduce the multifamily apartment sector’s vacancy rate from 7.4 percent to

6.6 percent. Rents, however, are expected to drop another 3.4 percent this year after falling 3.6 percent last year.

Welcome to Sea Isle City sign

SEA ISLE CITY MAYOR’S MESSAGE

The 2010 Visitors Guide is available on the City’s website, as well as in print. The guide contains events and programs scheduled throughout the year.  It will be mailed to all property owners in March and is distributed throughout the Tri-State area. 

On the evening of Tuesday, February 16, a Youth Forum was held in Council Chambers allowing the public to present ideas and opinions for new City programs.  The meeting was facilitated by the Mayor in cooperation with the City’s Recreation Commission and Community Services Department.  As a result of the meeting, the Community Services Department has begun to analyze and assess the requests of the residents.  New programs are being created based on these needs and the feasibility for implementation.  Aspects for consideration are program placement, budget impact, and in-house expansion of hours of operation.

Stemming from the forum, a meeting took place between the Mayor, Business Administrator, Community Services Department staff/personnel, the Superintendent and Administrator of the public school, and members of the Board of Education. The discussion included utilization of the school for the conceived programs.  The meeting ended positively, with an agreement from the school administration to allow community use of the school Monday-Friday, from 3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  This will allow the school building to potentially be the host location for new programs that will be administered by the City’s Community Services Department.  

CITY PROJECT NEWS

The Sea Isle City Beach Patrol Headquarters is scheduled for completion prior to the Memorial Day weekend.  The new two-story building will have a 2,306 square-foot first floor, with a First Aid Station, newly designed public restrooms, and beach wheel chair rentals. The second floor will be a combination of conference rooms and offices in a 1,670 square-foot space.

Veterans Memorial Park construction began on Wednesday, January 13, with an expected completion date in mid-May. The new park will feature a remodeled memorial, elevation of the original fountain, and the addition of a six-columned circular colonnade, flagpoles, and an eternal flame sculpture.  The site will be restructured with new landscaping, sidewalks, sidewalk benches, curbs, street lamps where necessary, public restrooms, and three stepped levels of high wall seating for events.

The South End Beach Fill Project, a joint effort with Avalon, is expected to begin in May and be completed by the end of June.  The contract is scheduled to be awarded to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock of Oak Brooke, IL following a special council meeting on Tuesday, March 2.  Sand will be placed on the City’s beaches from 73^rd to 94^th Streets, restoring these strands that have suffered the brunt of several severe fall and winter storms.

City Marina Site Project – The City received and opened seven bids on Friday, February 5, and awarded the contract for the Marina Site Project to LEXA Construction, LLC from Vineland, NJ on Tuesday, February 9, in the amount of $643,621.84.  This project will provide extensive landscaping, additional parking, road improvements, and an expanded area for children’s amusements.  The required completion date for the entire site project is Wednesday, June 30.

Gillian’s Funland is expanding the amusement park, and work is already underway for installation of the exciting “Galleon” ride, which will face visitors as they enter the park from the east end.

INITIATIVES

City efforts continue towards acceptance into the National Flood Insurance Community Rating System (CRS) program. The City will host a public forum on Saturday, March 27, at 10:00 a.m. in the Community Lodge to educate and inform residents on how to best be prepared for flooding situations.

Go Green initiatives are continuing to be a major priority for the City.  An educational campaign is currently being developed to encourage all residents and visitors to conserve water.  More details will follow in future News Briefs.  Information is available on the City website under the Government page, in the Public Works/Water and Sewer section.  

NOTEWORTHY

Polar Bear Plunge Weekend attracted over 15,000 people.  Visitors were able to enjoy plunge events along with the many available amenities in town as businesses and restaurants reopened for the weekend.  The Polar Bear King and Queen are Frank Reed and Trudy Craney for a second year, and there were 1,160 registered polar bears for the plunge. The Vendor and Food Market was a success and the Run/Walk for Autism doubled in the amount of participants from 2009.

The City’s updated Website was launched on Saturday, February 6. Additional features were added to better and more easily inform residents and visitors about current City news and projects.

A rental sign hangs on a beachfront house on Wesley Avenue in Ocean City. Paul Leiser says Internet browsing has reduced the negative effect snow damage might have on a property’s attractiveness to renters, but say beach erosion due to snow can drive them away. Photo by: Dale Gerhard

By BEN LEACH Press of A.C. Staff Writer | Sunday, February 21, 2010

As most of the region spent the past few weeks digging out of more than 2 feet of snow, some people imagined the summer months and a nice, warm, and snowflake-free beach season mere months away.

But as the snow eventually melts and washes away, so could the sand that makes living at and visiting shore resorts so desirable in the first place.

When people start making their vacation plans for the summer of 2010, the amount of sand left on the coast could make a big difference in where people want to spend their time and their money.

“People are going to go to an area where there is a beach,” said Steve Booth, a manager for Prudential Fox and Roach Realty in Ocean City.

According to an analysis by New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, Ocean City lost about a foot of sand at the northern end, where a beach replenishiment project has been under way for a few weeks.

Those routine beach-replenishment projects are what puts visitors’ minds at ease, Booth said.

“(Visitors) are fairly confident that by the summer everything will be fine,” Booth said.

However, Booth said residents who like to be close to the beach are not above taking their business somewhere else if the beach immediately in front of their rental property isn’t there or doesn’t meet their standards.

“If people don’t like the beach where they’re staying, they’re not going to go to another town. They’re going to check out places a few blocks away,” he said. But to a real estate agent, that can be too far. “The rental business tends to be territorial.”

Even though visitors to a shore resort can make a last-minute decision, many of them like to plan well in advance.

Presidents Day weekend is a particularly busy time for booking rental units for the summer, said Paul Leiser, co-owner of the Avalon Real Estate Agency on Dune Drive in the borough of Avalon.

“Twenty five years ago, they would be lined up waiting for us to unlock the doors,” Leiser said. “By 5 or 5:30, we’d be wiped out.”

Leiser said that at the time, a visit could be affected by ice on the steps or the appearance of the beach. But times have changed, and so have the ways in which people seek out rental properties.

According to Leiser, about

70 percent of all summer rentals through his agency are researched online. For some visitors, virtual tours are sufficent when making their summer real estate decisions.

Even in the hardest-hit areas, such as Long Beach Island, where the DEP’s analysis found 2 to 3 feet of erosion along places such as Beach Haven Crest and Harvey Cedars, a history of beach erosion doesn’t necessarily deter renters.

“(Erosion) is not affecting rental prices,” said Eileen Matson, a broker associate for Century 21 Mary Allen Realty Inc. in Ship Bottom.

Matson, who has been in real estate on Long Beach Island for 25 years, said erosion has never affected rental prices in her territory.

As long as people want to rent beachfront properties over the summer, Matson said, the prices will remain steady. And so far in 2010, that demand doesn’t seem to be dropping off at all.

“We’re actually seeing a rise in business this year compared to last year,” Matson said.