Site of old concrete plant could host recreational haven in Ocean City

The site of the old George Burt Cropper concrete plant in Ocean City has been empty since the plant was knocked down 3 years ago.  It could look a lot different in just a few months should the Mayor and Town Council decide to sign off the rezoning of the 4 acre property.

Joseph Moore is the attorney for the restaurant chain Ropewalk, who is looking at buying the property.  Moore tells 47ABC “We want to be a destination” he continued, “we want to be one of the focal points of Ocean City”. 

The first step to that is rezoning the property.  Currently the lot is zoned as manufacturing, and the company would like to get that changed to inlet.  The change would allow the company to build a hotel there, with 8.5 stories.  The inlet zoning would actually allow the proposed structure to be 12 stories, given the size of the property, but due to parking restrictions and recommendations by the Ocean City Development Corporation the Baltimore based company settled on 8.5 stories.  Zoning as it stands would only allow the structure to be built up to 5 stories.

If approved, the hotel would be one of Ocean City’s taller buildings.  It also will feature a restaurant and a bayside boardwalk that Moore says will complete [for lack of a better word] “restaurant row” which would extend from the North side of the Route 50 bridge to the Coast Guard station.

Moore tells 47ABC the vote could be as early as July 5th, and if approved the sale is expected to go through.

Casting a shadow on that lot overlooking the bay is the water tower that is being constructed on 1st St.  The tower, which will be painted to look like a beach ball is slightly ahead of schedule according to town officials.  Still, beach goers are unfortunately going to have to wait for the curb appeal as the tower is expected to be operational in late fall, and will only be painted just before that.