New Retail Project Eyed For 56th Street

OCEAN CITY - More retail
space will be added to the midtown sector, as plans for new retail stores were
presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission this week.

Architect Keith Iott,
representing, applicant Avraham Sibony, made the presentation to the Planning
and Zoning Commission this week, outlining plans for a strip of retail space at
56^th Street.

The building, to be
located at 5601 Coastal Highway,
to the north of 56^th Street and to the west of Coastal Highway, is proposed at 8,322
square feet. The property once housed a car wash and in more recent years was a
gas station and convenience store. The former building has since been
demolished.

•€˜It's single-story
retail with as of yet undetermined usages,' said Iott.

The building will be
constructed as a shell, until uses and tenants are decided on. Restaurant or
retail stores could be seen in the building, said Iott, and, as a result,
recycling will be included on site.

The building will house
a single tenant in the central part of the building, with space for two tenants
on each side.

While the owner of the
lot and the project also owns a string of Sunsations throughout the resort,
Iott assured the commission that the commercial space would not be another
Sunsations, as there is already one located two blocks away.

'They want a variety of
retail here,' he said.

Signage and lighting
will be presented to the Planning and Zoning Department at a later date, said
Iott. A lighting plan is currently in the works. Lighting should not fall on
neighboring residential properties at any point. Signage will ultimately be
uniform, said Iott, but could change as usages are selected. A location for a
freestanding sign has not yet been chosen.

The commission gave
approval to the project, subject to the lighting plan.