Developer presents plan for 939 Bay Avenue: 102-unit waterfront condominiums, council to review

Dr. Ira Trocke, owner of the property at 939 Bay Avenue, presented a concept plan to the Somers Point City Council for a waterfront condominium building that he said would include roughly 100–102 units and on-site parking.

The project, Trocke said during the council meeting, would be “a high end, condominium home policy building” with bay-facing units and a rooftop restaurant option. He said unit prices would likely range “about approximately a million 3 to a million 5” and that the building would be positioned to attract buyers who would not significantly increase school enrollment. “This will not be allowed for Airbnb or any short term rentals,” Trocke said, adding that any rentals would be “long term rentals, minimum a year.”

Council members and members of the public pressed Trocke on several technical and policy points, including building height, floor count, parking and affordable-housing obligations. Council member John Bridal asked whether the top of the proposed building is 70 feet “from grade,” and Trocke confirmed it is measured from grade. He and other council members also questioned traffic circulation and the locations for building entrances; Trocke said he expected the primary access off a side street rather than Bay Avenue and acknowledged civil-engineering study would be required.

Trocke described the project as a redevelopment deal and said the team would seek permission under state redevelopment processes and might propose a pilot/PILOT program to phase-in tax relief, with the developer suggesting a typical five-year step-up as an example. Council members said they would be cautious about any tax-abatement or pilot arrangement. Council member Jim Dill said a pilot would be difficult for him to support under current fiscal conditions; Dill added later that the recently adopted municipal budget and current market conditions make tax breaks harder to justify.

Technical details were discussed but not finalized on the record. Speakers offered differing numbers for unit and parking counts during the exchange. Trocke and a project team member gave these figures on the record: Trocke said the full project concept includes “a hundred and 2” units; on parking, he said there would be “78 parking spots underground” and “47 spots” around the building, numbers he supplied during council questioning. When asked about affordable-housing requirements, Trocke said he expected roughly 21 affordable units would be required for a 102-unit building and that he preferred locating required affordable units elsewhere in Somers Point rather than within the high-end building site.

Public comment at the meeting included several residents who said the council should seek more detailed plans before moving ahead. Patricia Pearson asked that any agreement language be clear about term length if a shared-service or temporary arrangement is proposed. Public commenters Greg Clayton, Gary Grama and others said they wanted to see engineering and architectural plans, floodplain/CAFRA analysis and clearer information about traffic, density, and whether the development would change the character of the Bay Avenue area.

Council president Haberkorn and other council members said the matter will go back to committee for review; council members asked the developer to provide more technical exhibits (engineer/traffic studies, definitive site plan and clarified parking counts) before any formal redevelopment or PILOT discussions. No zoning or redevelopment action was taken at the meeting.

The council indicated it would schedule committee review and possibly an executive-session briefing after staff and the developer supply additional documentation. The council’s next steps, as described on the record, are committee review followed by recommendations to the full council.