OC Today-Dispaatch MARCH 22, 2024
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Balt. Ave. plan will get $20M Fed grants have strings attached, as council knows The money supports the proposed infrastructure funding package, and is set to take the city about halfway home on plans to overhaul the downtown street from north to south. — Page 3
CLEARANCE GRANTED
BETHANY HOOPER/OC TODAY-DISPATCH
Thanks to the pit dug by a city tractor, the monster truck “Sarge” has plenty of clearance as it drives under the pier on the beach downtown. Promoters of the October event and resort officials thought a test run of one of the mechanical beasts was in order to ensure they could pass under the pier when the time comes.
Flagship to be replaced
Award-winning artists dominate first year lineup
From hall of famers to the day’s hottest performers, this where the Flagship Oceanfront Hotel has stood fall’s Country Calling Festival since 1964. Rising on that parcel will be a 135- appears to be a knockout. — room hotel and restaurant. — Page 12 Page 15
Long-standing hotel will give way to new Springhill Suites With site plan approval in hand, Harrison BW Boardwalk Inc. can proceed to the next stage of redevelopment of the 26th Street property,
Country concert goes big
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OC Today-Dispatch
MARCH 22, 2024
MARCH 22, 2024
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OC Today-Dispatch
Baltimore Avenue work scores $20M grant By Bethany Hooper Associate Editor (March 22, 2024) A $20 million federal grant will allow the Town of Ocean City to move forward with a redevelopment project on Baltimore Avenue. At the end of Monday’s Mayor and Council meeting, City Manager Terry McGean provided officials with an update on the redevelopment of Baltimore Avenue. He noted that earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed off on a bill that included $20 million for the infrastructure project. “The federal money always comes with strings attached, so there’s going to be a lot of additional work we’re probably going to have to do designwise,” he told the council. “It’s going to probably delay us. We don’t just get the money and then get to spend it, so we’re going to have to do some additional. We’ll work on that, but we’ll be bringing it to you for a full update in the next, probably, two months.” Last March, the Mayor and Council agreed to postpone a phased redevelopment project along Baltimore Avenue to give city officials more time to seek grant funding to offset a roughly $20 million cost increase. Some of the work proposed for the phased Baltimore Avenue project in-
cludes undergrounding utilities and improving the overall streetscape. While the project was first presented with a price tag of $20 million – funded in part by a municipal bond sale and a combination of potential state and federal grants – the estimated price tag has more than doubled. “When all the numbers came in, the price doubled …,” McGean said in an interview this week. “The council then challenged me to get funding to cover the difference.” With $20 million in federal grant funding now earmarked for Baltimore Avenue, McGean told officials Monday he would sit down with Public Works Director Hal Adkins to review the project timeline and grant requirements before work begins. “We have to be very careful,” he said. “With a lot of these federal grants, you cannot even spend your matching funds until all the documentation and approvals have been gone through. So we’ll have to work through that. Even though it’s dedicated to Baltimore Avenue, the funding goes through State Highway. There’s going to be a lot of hoops to jump through. We are just starting to work our way through it, and we will bring you something in the next two months.”
SUBMITTED PHOTO/OC TODAY-DISPATCH
The redevelopment of Baltimore Avenue will include undergrounding utilities and is expected to improve pedestrian access.
In an interview Tuesday, McGean recognized Congressman Andy Harris for working with the town to obtain the grant funding. He said he estimates work to begin in the fall of 2025. “We estimate a four-year project that will be done in phases,” he said. “We are working from north to south. So in year one we would do 15th to either 9th or 10th, just undergrounding utilities. In year 2, we would do 15th to 9th or 10th with streetscaping and 9th to 5th with undergrounding. In year three, we would do 9th to 5th
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with streetscaping and 5th to North Division with undergrounding. And in year four, we would do 5th to North Division with streetscaping.” McGean said the project, once completed, would improve both the streetscape and pedestrian safety along the corridor. “We think it will improve pedestrian access along Baltimore Avenue, and undergrounding utilities will help us with storm resiliency and clears the sidewalks of impediments,” he said. “We think it comes with a lot of benefits.”
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